Advent '08
by demon sloth
Summary: Another Advent Calender for you all. A new chapter for you to read each day like a calender! Each chapter is a day, a countdown to Christmas and the blossoming of fairy tale feelings in the snow! Merry Christmas! NOW COMPLETE!
1. The Plan I

**Ohmmmfgh! Look what I did! Another advent calendar for you all to enjoy!…or not…**

**After the brilliant success of last year's idea I've decided to be all Hollywood-ish and make a spin-off!**

**(Don't look at me like that! Some of them are good…-________-)**

…**Anyway! Yeah, so…you know the drill from last year - each chapter is a day in the story, there's an update each day because it's an ADVENT CALENDER (clue's in the name) and everything (I hope) should get concluded by the 25****th****!**

**This year I'm also going to take into account the day that it's set in (which was one of my regrets from last years) so on weekdays Kyoko will be going to SCHOOL! (Oh noes!)**

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Advent '08

December 1st - 24 days to go

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Yashiro sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair. The pale blond bangs fell back into exactly the same position and he scrunched his nose in silent protest against the feathery strands.

The small battery run clock ticked steadily and soothingly in the almost silent room. Yashiro took a quick look up at it before he went back to his work. Seven thirty. That was good, it was early and he was already well into his work.

Reaching for the next sheet of paper from the pile balanced precariously on his desk he quickly scanned it over. His eyes reached the bottom of the page before the words actually registered. He paused and blinked twice before cocking his head to the side. Had he read that right? He started again and this time read slowly down the page, his eyes still catching on the same sentence.

His tongue darted out and wet him bottom lip while he thought quickly. Sitting up straight he groaned as his back popped back into place. Forgetting about the sheet of paper in his hand for a moment due to the relief, he stretched a little, trying to work out all the kinks before collapsing back into his chair, a small, smug smile of contentment plastered upon his face.

He snuggled down into the comfy leather and thought of nothing for a moment whilst his muscles relaxed, his eyes dropping to half-mast before he caught a glimpse of the paper, still in his hand, and stiffened, effectively undoing all his hard work by relaxing, so to speak.

What was he going to do about this?

He sighed from his position and reluctantly sat up again. Trying to relax and not think about what that innocuous piece of paper contained was like trying to sunbathe in a thunderstorm.

Not Possible.

Massaging the back of his neck he ran his eyes over the text again before just staring at it with narrowed eyes and clenched jaw.

What that piece of paper contained…well…when Yashiro thought about it, he could come up with nothing better than liking it to a bombshell.

And he had no idea what to do with it at _all_.

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt the first beatings of a headache start up their dancing rhythm behind both of his eyes.

His glasses were annoying him so he took them off and ran the back of his hand over his forehead before pressing his fingers against his lips in contemplation.

It was explosive, that much was a given.

But…

He sniffed and glanced off to the side.

But…if he planned it right…

If he planned it right then he might be able to move his own plans along in the process.

His lips quirked upwards in a smirk as he thought about the possibilities.

His own plans…

They had been stuck at the same stage for months now and, if he was going to be honest, he was getting just a _little_ frustrated with it all.

He had had it all worked out. Every single little thing had been meticulously planned. Every contingency had been dreamt up and solved, yet…

Yet, still, Ren had managed to scupper his hard work by just being stubborn.

…the idiot.

Yashiro sighed wistfully. If only Ren had followed his plans…

True, he didn't know anything about them so he couldn't follow a script and do exactly what he said…

Yashiro paused for a second and wondered about the possibility of actually writing a script for Ren to follow, before shaking himself.

No. That was not the answer. If he gave Ren a script then he would just skip to the end and read what happens…

…And then Ren would refuse to do it because he was _stubborn_ and thought he knew what was _best_ and what he was doing was for the good of _everyone_ when all he was actually doing was confusing the people around him and making everything around ten times more difficult then they ever had to be.

…the idiot.

Yashiro rolled his eyes at the thought of his charge. If he wasn't his manager and hadn't signed that stupid form he would just go up to Ren and slap him upside the head to try and knock some sort of sense into him.

But he couldn't.

Stupid form.

He placed the glasses back onto his nose and read through the sheet once more before he smirked again.

Oh, it would be brilliant!

The smirk grew into a full blown grin.

If he timed everything just right…and this time planned around Ren's pig-headedness…then he might be able to get what he wanted after all.

And none of them would ever know!

A chuckle trickled from his lips as he leant back in his chair and thought about the ending. _His_ ending.

It would be so great!

…No…not great…brilliant was a better word.

It would be absolutely brilliant!

And it would be all thanks to him!

The chuckle evolved into a laugh and he threw his head back, letting his mirth run it's course. After a few minutes his laughter died away and he was left panting, unable to catch his breath, with flushed cheeks and glassy eyes. He leant forward and placed the piece of, slightly crumpled, paper down onto his desk. His eyes flicked over to the paper calendar that was propped up by his light. The first of December? Good. That meant that he had almost a month to work in. But he would have to plan fast, as soon as possible really, so that he could take full advantage of all the opportunities when they presented themselves to him.

This time though…this time he was going to take a different approach to how he was going to go about it all. Instead of strictly planning everything, he was going to leave a little wiggle room. To be honest, that was the only thing he could think of to get around Ren.

And the president…

And Kyoko…

Yashiro sighed once again before he rustled about in his top draw, searching for the one thing that he would need throughout this all.

He made a small noise of elation as his fingers brushed against the cool leather and he slowly pulled the thick planner out, making sure that every loose leaf of paper that was just tucked in between the pages didn't fall out and scatter around the room.

He tenderly stroked the cover before opening it and flicking through the pages.

His precious planner…it had been with him through it all and it would be again.

He smirked once again to himself before he picked up his pen and started jotting down ideas.

---/---

When Kyoko arrived at the L.M.E. building that morning at seven-thirty she was met with a message from Mine-san, President Takarada's secretary, to immediately make her way to his office as he had made some (and she could quote) 'life altering decisions' in regards to her.

The first thing that crossed her mind was that the President had decided that she couldn't work in the company anymore.

She smiled politely at the messenger and took the small piece of paper with the message written on it. Inside, though, she was panicking slightly, thoughts running through her head about what she would do and wondering about what was going through the mind of the President.

She couldn't deal with this.

It was all very well trying to second guess someone but this wasn't just _anybody_ she was trying to second guess. President Lory Takarada was one of the most crazy, energetic and animated person she had ever met in her entire life; even more so than she was!

As such, there was no possible way that she or anybody else could ever guess what was going through his mind.

She needed help.

What she _really_ needed was someone who had been in the business for a long time and who interacted with the President personally.

A few people sprung instantly to mind but she knew of only one that had all of that and there was still a one hundred percent chance that they would actually talk to her and not patronise her worries.

She needed to go and see Yashiro.

She checked her watch. Seven thirty five. Good, she could go and call in at Yashiro's office and spend five minutes there on the way to seeing the President.

Kyoko nodded once to herself at her decision and made her way through the lobby to the employees staircase. There was hardly anybody in the building at this time, only those that worked as cleaning staff and workaholics were there.

A sleepy looking receptionist sat behind the front desk. Kyoko waved a good morning at her when she passed and she raised a hand in reply. Kyoko grinned. She loved this time of the morning, it was fresh and the air was clean. Well…_cleaner_ than what it would be later on in the day when commuters clogged up the roads with their cars.

It reminded her of home.

Of a time when she was younger, when she had fewer worries and problems compared to the problems she had now and she _liked_ that. Yes she had some terrible memories of that place but it reminded her that she was not alone.

That she had _roots_.

And it was always an uplifting feeling to look back on memories and know that they were an intrinsic part of you. To know that, no matter what happened, you could look back and know that there was a place that you had come from. To know that things had happened to you, good and bad, but that all those experiences helped build who you were now and that future experiences would help you grow into the person you wanted to be.

It was just too bad that every time she looked back on her childhood all she could see was Sho's irritating smirk. Sometimes she just wanted to wipe that look from his face. What had she ever saw in him?

Kyoko grimaced and fisted her hands.

Damn Sho and damn these feelings that she had whenever she thought of him. She _had_ been trying to have a happy moment there to distract herself from the reason she was going to see Yashiro.

But no, she had to think of Sho and then she had to go and remember the note that the President sent and the whole reason she was here in the first place.

Stupid Sho. It was all his fault.

She started on the stairs and quickly made her way to the correct floor. When she turned onto the corridor she found it deserted. Most of the other doors that led off were locked and the windows darkened. The fluorescent lights buzzed loudly in the almost silence and Kyoko glanced about, her smile still on her face.

Now all she had to do was to remember which one of these door led to Yashiro's office.

Ah!

Kyoko's eyes brightened as she spotted the one door whose small glass window was lit up with a yellow glow.

As she made he way over to it her good mood diminished slightly as she was reminded, once again, of why she had made the decision to come and speak with Yashiro. She raised her hand and was about to rap upon the wooden door when the sound of chuckling made her pause.

She flexed her fingers, inches away from the doors surface, wondering what to do. She had only decided to call upon Yashiro because she needed some advice, but he seemed to be having a moment…

Kyoko stood, undecided for a moment, before she gritted her teeth and made her decision. She went to knock again but the chuckling turned to laughter and she flinched away.

What on earth was Yashiro doing?! That laugh sounded positively _evil_!

She frowned and lowered her hand. Whatever Yashiro was doing she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

She half turned away and stared at the staircase. She was worried about what the President wanted with her but…

Glancing warily at Yashiro's office door, from which the disturbing laughter could still be heard, she suppressed a small shiver that tried to crawl its way up her spine.

There was no way that she could tell the person sitting in that office her worries at this time. Whoever it was in there was not Yashiro, as Yashiro was not an evil, manipulative man and, judging by the sounds issuing from that office, that was exactly the type of person it contained at the minute.

With a small backwards glance, purely for her own safety of course, she quickly made her way back to the stairs.

She would just have to see the President without consulting with Yashiro.

For some reason, she just couldn't get rid of the foreboding feeling she had.

---/---

When Kyoko finally reached the President's office, Mine-san greeted her with a smile. Kyoko tried to look past the smile to whatever meaning was hidden behind but found herself too nervous to do much of anything except smile weakly back.

"Kyoko-chan! If you just want to go right through? President Takarada is expecting you."

Kyoko nodded and made her way over to the door. Knocking twice, she peeked through the gap, half expecting glitter to be thrown in her face. What she saw had her reeling backwards in shock.

The President of L.M.E. was just sitting behind his desk, calmly sipping green tea, wearing a plain dark brown _suit_.

A little voice, deep inside Kyoko, told her to run whilst she still could.

Instead, Kyoko waited patiently by the door until Lory motioned for her to enter and take a seat in front of his desk. She did so, nervousness clawing at her insides.

Lory chuckled at her, easing a little of her worries. After all, would the President be smiling if he was about to throw her out of the company?

Well…maybe. This _was_ the President of L.M.E. after all, and he _was_ known to be exuberant at the most oddest of times.

He placed his cup of tea back down onto the saucer and steepled his fingers.

"Do not look so _worried_, Kyoko-chan."

His smile increased when he saw some of the tension drain from her shoulders.

"Now then. I trust you got my message?"

The tension came back full force and Kyoko stared at him with wide eyes. Was this the part where he told her that her services were no longer required?

"I have come to a decision." He said, cutting through her worry. "And I have already agreed it with your head teacher. For the rest of December your timetable is going to change somewhat."

Kyoko stared at him, nonplussed. If she was going to be honest with herself, she could safely say that she had absolutely no clue as to what the President was talking about, nor what was going on.

The President picked up the only piece of paper on his desk and held it out to her, for her to take. She did so with only the slightest hint of trepidation. What was on the sheet made her frown in confusion. Lory leant back in his chair.

"As you can see," he explained "this is going to be your new timetable. December is our busiest month and I have found that we need all the help we can get. Your head teacher, fortunately, understood and has agreed to share you with us.

"From today, until the end of term, you'll be spending all day Monday and Wednesday at school. Tuesdays and Thursdays, you will spend the morning at school and the afternoon here. Fridays, you will be working at L.M.E. all day.

"Do you understand?"

Kyoko nodded her head. This was…unexpected, to say the least. Instead of L.M.E. wanting to get rid of her, they were actually negotiating for her to come in and work more often.

A small bloom of happiness opened in her stomach and her lips tilted in a smile.

They actually wanted her!

The President cleared his throat.

"As today is Monday, your teachers are expecting you in, though I am aware that they have been informed that you might be a little late."

Kyoko jumped, then glanced at her watch. The President was right! It was going on eight o'clock now and her school started at eight thirty. There was no way she was going to be able to make the fifty minute journey on time in rush-hour traffic. She stood up.

"I better get going then. Thank you so much Sir!"

"That's quite all right. Now hurry up, you don't want to be even later than you already are."

She bowed gratefully at what the President had done for her and made her way out of his office.

Lory chuckled again at her antics when the door had clicked shut. It was never boring when Kyoko was around. Slowly though, the smile dropped from his face. Now that _that_ was out of the way, he had an important meeting with a difficult business associate to make.

He could only hope that all his plans would come together in time.

---/---

It was lunchtime before Yashiro finished with all his paperwork.

Fortunately, Ren had had the morning off, so when he finally met up with Yashiro he was blissfully unaware of the fully concocted plan that Yashiro had developed in his absence. Though he did seem to blanch a little at the smile Yashiro was wearing when he caught sight of him.

"Yashiro-san?"

Yashiro just smiled wider and pulled out his planner from behind his back. No matter how many times Ren saw that happening, he could never work out where Yashiro stored it - it always just seemed to appear, bringing with it a sense of fear…

Ren shook his head. There was no logical reason why he should be scared of a planner. A small part of his consciousness disagreed, especially when it combined the planner with the _smile_.

"How was your morning off?"

"It was…fine."

Yashiro licked he bottom lip. This was it. This was where his plans really started to begin.

"Ren. I got an interesting message today."

Ren blinked at the tone of Yashiro's voice before his eyes narrowed slightly. He started to wonder just what his manager was trying to do. He knew what that tone meant…

Well, Yashiro would just have to find out that two could play at that game. He smoothed out his features.

"Really?" He asked innocently, and was rewarded as a shadow passed across Yashiro's features.

"Yes." Yashiro replied tersely "It said that the annual Christmas Award Ceremony was being brought back."

Ren was surprised. The Christmas Award Ceremony had been one of the biggest in the industry but had been shut down years back due to allegations of fixing. It was an interesting development that they were bringing it back after all this time. He hadn't even been in Japan at the time the last one was held.

"Are they bringing it all back?" He asked, a little interested.

"Yes. Even the ball afterwards. Apparently President Takarada is the one at the fore-front of it's return."

"Interesting…"

The grin returned to Yashiro's face.

"So. Do you plan on going?"

Ren glanced back at his manager, weighing everything up in his mind.

"No. I don't think I will."

Yashiro looked a little shocked.

"But what if you get nominated for something?"

Ren waved off the question.

"Then I'll get someone to collect it for me if I win. Just say I'm busy or something."

"But what about your fans? They're going to be disappointed."

Ren raised an eyebrow.

"If you say that I'm taking a break to make sure that I don't get ill then they won't mind."

Yashiro's mouth dropped open as he watched Ren turn around and walk off. Okay…this was definitely _not_ a part of his plan. It was certainly a good thing that he had left some room for adjustments. He scowled at Ren's back as he hurried after him.

Why did Ren have to be so _stubborn_ all of the time?

Ah well. He smirked again. It wasn't going to be fun if everything _always_ went his way…

---/---

Kyoko had indeed arrived late to school that morning, but as the President had mentioned, her teachers all seemed to understand the situation and let her off without saying anything harsh towards her.

The rest of the day was as uneventful as a normal school day. She went to her classes, had lunch, went to some more classes and then went home.

At the present moment in time, she was sitting cross-legged on her bed staring at her new timetable with a huge smile on her face. She sighed happily and fell backwards against her pillows, her hands folded behind her head.

For once she felt that everything was going right.

She had a good feeling about this month.

A _very_ good feeling.

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**Well…I was just writing but I seemed to have gone off on a tangent somewhat and a little bit of foreshadowing snuck it's way into this chapter.**

**Anyway! What I really wanted to ask was what you guys thought - of everything really…**

**I changed my style a little from last year and I seemed to have written more than I originally planned. Is the length ok? Too long? Too…short?**

**See you tomorrow! (hopefully) and please tell me what you think! :)**

**DS**


	2. The Plan II

**Woo! Thanks for sticking with!**

**Thanks to WriterofShadow for beta-ing both this chapter and last chapter...and hopefully every future chapter...even though it was last minute...**

**Any mistakes left are probably my own.**

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Advent '08

December 2nd – 23 days to go

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Kyoko woke with a smile on her face. It took her a moment to figure out why, but when the events of yesterday morning came back to her, her smile only widened.

This was great!

She jumped out of bed and pulled on the uniform that she had laid out ready for that day, before staring at her room. She only had morning classes today to worry about, now all she had to figure out was what she was going to need to pack for her afternoon at L.M.E. When she thought about it, she was unsure of what she would be doing. The President had only said that this month was the busiest in the year, he had told her nothing of her tasks that she would be doing.

What exactly _would_ she be doing?

She shrugged and grabbed her bag from the corner she had dumped it in last night. If she couldn't figure it out, she guessed she would just have to take what she would usually take and hope that nothing too extraneous would be asked of her.

Going over to her desk she packed the books that she knew that she would need and then folded up a cleanly washed work uniform and put that in the bag as well.

She frowned. It wasn't much to look at really. Was this all she would need to get her through the day? She was nervous, now that she knew that the President had specifically asked for her to be taken out of school to help she didn't want to disappoint him.

After a moment or two of contemplation, she sighed. It was all she could do really. She would just have to hope that it was enough. Zipping up her back she swung in onto her shoulders before checking her watch.

Perfect. She still had plenty of time before the school started. Besides, it was a shorter distance from her home to school than it was from the L.M.E. building to the school. And she wouldn't even hit morning traffic.

Making her way downstairs, Kyoko waved goodbye to the owners of the inn before grabbing her bicycle and heading off towards school, too excited to eat breakfast.

---/---

School that morning was a slow torture, stuck inside when all she wanted was for this morning to be over so that she could go do work.

It was a little insensitive and Kyoko did feel a small pang of guilt for thinking this way. After all, she had wanted to go to high school and the President had gone out of his way to get her a place here. It was also a little disrespectful to the teachers, they were here to teach and she wasn't giving them the courtesy of listening.

But really, all she wanted to do was get outside.

Her eyes drifted towards the window. Her desk was right next to it and the outside kept taunting her. She snapped to attention when her teacher slammed her hands down right in front of her.

"Kyoko? Is there something interesting happening outside?"

Kyoko grimaced at the smile her teacher was giving her. "No?"

"No?" Her teacher repeated. "Well then, maybe you would like to read out the next passage?"

"Y-yes..."

"Wonderful!"

Suppressing a sigh that she _knew_ would get her into even deeper trouble, she took one last lingering glance through the window before she stood and found the passage in her book. She had been so caught up in her own musing that she had lost her place.

Panicking slightly, she flicked through the text, trying to ignore her teacher's world weary sigh and the snickers from her class mates.

It was with great relief that she found the paragraph and started to read. As the words left her lips she allowed her mind to wander.

---/---

When the bell for lunch finally rang Kyoko almost gave out a yell of joy. Stuffing the last of her school books into her bag she swung it onto her shoulder and quickly raced out of the classroom, desperate to get outside and on her way.

As soon as she stepped out of the entrance she shivered, the biting wind cutting through her.

What had she been thinking? It was _December_ after all. There was no way that it would have been hot. In the classroom she had been fooled into thinking that it was going to be warm outside because the sun had been shining.

Stuffing her hands into her armpits for warmth, she made her way over to where she kept her bicycle, her teeth chattering loudly.

It was with great reluctance that she gripped the handles, mourning her fingers loss of warmth she started on her journey to the L.M.E. building unsteadily.

---/---

Yashiro had not been having a good day so far.

Ren's complete unwillingness to change his mind over anything was beginning to annoy him. Yes, he had allowed some room in his plan for this type of behaviour. What he hadn't allowed was for Ren to not even consider the possibilities.

He had worked on Ren all yesterday about changing his mind and going to the awards ceremony. But all Ren had done was smile that infuriating smile of his and kept up with his 'No.' Coming up with different excuses every time he brought up a valid reason as to why Ren _should_ go.

In the end, Ren had turned to him and said 'Why Yashiro-san, it's almost as if you're deperate for me to go.' and then walked off, leaving Yashiro with his mouth hanging open and his plan in tatters on the first _day_.

He had gone to bed scheming though, and all he had to show for it this morning was a headache.

Yashiro let his head fall to his desk, pressing his cheek against the cool wood and closing his eyes.

How on earth was he going to convince Ren to go? His whole plan hinged on Ren's consent. He could manipulate the rest to his liking, he just couldn't find a way for Ren to say that initial 'Yes.'

He sighed in irritation and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Stupid Ren.

What he needed was for Ren to say yes. What he needed was to somehow _show_ Ren why he _should_ say yes.

...What he needed was a miracle.

His eyes snapped open. Miracle? He sat up. That was it! He didn't need a miracle, he needed Kyoko!

Laughing at his own brilliance and studiously ignoring the flickering lights, he flipped through the small cardholder on his desk until he found the extension number for Takenori Sawara. Slipping on his latex gloves, he punched the number in and calmed himself down as the phone began to ring.

"_Hello? This is Sawara-san speaking._"

Yashiro grinned. "Ah, Sawara-san. This is Yashiro-san."

"_Ah, Yashiro-san! How are you? What can I do for you?_"

Yashiro bit his bottom lip, forcing down the urge to laugh at how easy this all was. "Well," he started "I was wondering if I could borrow Kyoko-chan for a while?"

There was a small hesitation on the other end of the line before Sawara started talking again, this time with regret.

"_I'm sorry Yashiro-san, Kyoko-chan is at school now._"

"What?! But I thought that Kyoko was working here all month?"

"_No, it's only certain times that she's working here. The rest she's at school. Was it very urgent that you needed her?_"

Yashiro could only sit there in surprise and increasing dismay at what Sawara had told him. Kyoko wasn't going to be working at L.M.E. all the time? He had planned around the fact that Kyoko would always be available.

Urgh. This time it was Kyoko who was messing up his plans and not Ren. They were both as bad as each other. They practically deserved each other for putting him through this.

Yashiro was about to give up completely when Sawara's last question finally registered.

Urgent? He could do urgent...

He sighed hard. "Yes. Yes, it really was urgent. I don't know what I'm going to do now..."

Leaving the sentence open he waited, smirking into his empty office. It didn't take long as Sawara practically tripped over himself to reassure him.

"_Ah! Don't worry Yashiro-san. Kyoko isn't at school all the time, in fact! I think she's supposed to be coming in this afternoon!_" There was the sound of rustling over the phone "_Ah, yes. I have her timetable here. Yes. Kyoko's in this afternoon._"

"She is?" Yashiro sounded hopeful down the phone "When else is she going to be here?"

There was a pause before Sawara spoke.

"_Well...would you like me to fax over a copy of her timetable?_"

Yashiro laughed silently for a few seconds before sounding downtrodden but grateful.

"If you would...? Thank you so much Sawara-san, you have no idea how grateful I am."

"_Oh...er...it was nothing, really..._"

Yashiro could practically hear the man's embarrassment. He smirked as the fax machine screeched into life on his right and decided to lay it on a little more.

"Oh no, it wasn't nothing. I was really in a fix there and you've saved me from it. I owe you a lot Sawara-san. If there's anything you need me to do, just name it."

"_Er..._"

"Oh! Sawara-san, there's one more thing."

"_Yes? What is it?_"

"Could you send Kyoko-chan over to me straight away so I can give her the details for what I need her to do?"

"_Yes. Yes, of course. I'll send her to you as soon as I see her._"

"Great. I'll be in my office in the beginning of the afternoon."

"_Okay then, bye Yashiro-san._"

"Yes, bye. And you really have been a big help. Thank you again."

There was a click and Yashiro put down the phone, staring at it for a second before bursting into laughter. Yes! He had done it! He had acquired Kyoko's timetable for the entire month and...when he was done with talking to her this lunchtime...he was pretty sure he was going to have her services as well.

Things just couldn't be better!

Reaching over, Yashiro snagged the copy of her timetable from the fax machine and took a quick glance over it. Well...it wasn't the best thing that he had to work with, but he could work with it. All he's have to do was make a few adjustments in his plan here and there.

Having her timetable also meant that he could add in extra meetings that he hadn't been able to plan originally.

He smirked.

Oh, how he loved his job.

Now all he had to do was wait through the rest of the morning until Kyoko turned up at his office.

He checked the clock on his desk. Perfect. Just enough time to plan what and how he was going to say to 'convince' Kyoko that doing what he asked was going to be best for herself and everyone around her.

He rubbed his hands together. This was going to be good.

---/---

When Kyoko finally arrived at the building she was out of breath. Mainly because she had cycled as fast as she could because she was so excited...well, that and the fact that she hadn't been entirely sure that she wouldn't have frozen to death if she had taken it any slower.

Chaining up her bike in the bike rack at the front of the building, she quickly made her way inside, sighing blissfully as the warmth washed over her.

Her bliss was rudely interrupted when the receptionist at the front desk, the same one as yesterday, caught sight of her and waved her over.

Curious, Kyoko made her way through the crowd of people that were loitering in the entrance hall, all of them putting off having to brave the cold outside. Unlike other times nobody was staring at her but this was because she hadn't got round to putting on her work clothes yet. At the moment she was still just an ordinary girl.

With a little pushing and shoving she managed to get to the desk and returned the smile of the receptionist.

"Was there something you needed?"

The receptionist rummaged around on her desk for a moment. "Hang on one moment please. Ah! There it is!" She pulled out a small note that had been tucked between other pieces of paper of the same size. "I have a message for you from Yashiro-san. He's asking that you go to his office immediately when you arrive."

Kyoko frowned. "Yashiro-san?"

"Yes."

"Is there a reason?"

The receptionist re-read the note that she had been given before turning back to Kyoko. "No, only that he wants to see you when you get in. I think he has a job for you."

Kyoko's eyes cleared. "Oh, well in that case..." She went to move away before a thought struck her and she turned back. "Would he be in his office?"

The receptionist nodded and Kyoko smiled in thanks before making her way over to the staircase, following the exact route that she had taken yesterday.

---/---

When the knock came on his door Yashiro took one last quick glance around the room, making sure that everything was in place before he settled back down in his chair. Pulling a completed form from his outbox he made himself look busy whilst he called for whoever was on the other side to enter.

It was all he could do to stop himself from bursting into laughter. As such it took him a few minutes before he could straighten his face into something that resembled calmness. By that time, of course, Kyoko had already entered the room and had stood waiting patiently in front of his desk not saying anything.

Obviously she thought that he had been absorbed by the 'important' piece of paperwork in front of him. Not wanting to disappoint, or let on that there was any external manipulation going on, he grabbed a spare piece of paper and wrote something meaningless with a flourish and paperclipped it to the piece in front of him.

By that time Yashiro had managed to regain control of his features and looked up at Kyoko with a smile. He was pleased to note that her eyes had been drawn to the poster that he had carefully positioned on his desk. The one that his flourish had drawn attention to.

"Kyoko,"

He had to fight really hard with himself to not grin manically and scare her off.

"Yashiro-san." She nodded in response. "You wanted to see me?"

He moved the form back into the outbox and acted like he was thinking for a moment, trying to remember what exactly he had called her for. It would not be a good idea to pressure her into anything at this stage in the game.

Both she and Ren had to believe that _they_ were controlling all the shots.

Amateurs.

While he was 'thinking' he couldn't help but notice how her eyes were drawn to the poster once again.

His face lit up as if he had just remembered and he nodded as if to himself. "Ah yes! I was hoping you would get my message."

Kyoko looked at him in complete innocence and Yashiro had the strange desire to crush it. He shook his head slightly to rid himself of the thought.

"Kyoko." He started again, completely serious. "I need your help."

Kyoko, for her part, only looked taken aback at the abruptness of his statement for a moment before eagerness to prove herself took over.

"Yes, really? What do you need me to do."

"Well," Yashiro leaned back in his chair. He had her in the palm of his hand now. "There's something very important that I need you to help me with. But..." He leant forward and caught her gaze. Kyoko seemed to hold her breath. "but...and this is the important part. It's Top Secret."

Kyoko let out her breath explosively but the wonderment and excitement didn't leave her face. "What?" she asked breathlessly, "What is it."

Yashiro took a moment to look over her face, seemingly to weigh up her trustworthyness. Inside, though, he was smirking with glee. He nodded to himself in a satisfied manner. "Well, as you may have seen there is an award ceremony at the end of the month." He motioned towards the poster that was on his desk and watched as Kyoko glanced, once again, at it.

Kyoko nodded slowly, still staring at the piece of paper.

"As you may _not _know, this ceremony has been cancelled for over a decade and the decision to bring it back was not made lightly." Yashiro paused to make sure that Kyoko was following him. "It is going to be announced on television in the next few days and it is going to be one of the most high profile events this season."

Kyoko frowned. "Are you wanting me to help with the setting up?"

"No, I have a more important job for you."

Kyoko looked up from the poster and stared at him.

Yashiro continued. "As I just said, it's going to be a high profile event and everyone in the whole of Japan will be watching and cheering on their favourite stars. The problem is," here he paused and pinched the bridge of his nose, miming a headache. "Ren has taken it into his head not to go."

Sighing, he let his hand drop to his side, inwardly congratulating himself when he saw Kyoko's horrified look.

"But! Yashiro-san, what about the _fans_?"

Yashiro shook his head in mock consternation. "I know, Kyoko. I _know_. I even asked that same question but he just didn't seem to be bothered."

Kyoko gasped.

Yashiro inwardly sniggered.

"But if he doesn't go then he might lose some of his fans!"

"That was what I was worried about."

"No!"

Yashiro bit his bottom lip and nodded sadly. "Yes. You see my problem now."

Kyoko was staring into the middle distance with horror clearly evident on her face. Yashiro bit his lip harder to help school himself.

Kyoko snapped herself out of her thoughts and turned back to Yashiro with a determined look upon her face. "What do you need me to do?"

This time Yashiro let his smile show on his face. "Well Kyoko, this is what I was thinking..."

---/---

Yashiro grinned as the door closed behind the retreating form of Kyoko. All had gone to plan and everything was set. He had just started the ball rolling. It had taken a few hours with Kyoko to work out everything but now she knew what she had to do.

Well, now she knew what to do so that she could help him, or so she believed.

Ripping off the extra sheet of paper that he had attached to the form earlier he crumpled it into a ball and threw it in the direction of the waste paper basket. It went in on the first try and Yashiro let out a chuckle at how well everything was going for him today.

Even his headache from this morning had disappeared completely.

Pulling out his planner he marked the progress he had made and snapped it shut.

This was wonderful. All he had to do now was schedule a meeting with President Takarada for tomorrow and let him know that he was monopolising Kyoko for the month...

...without saying that he was monopolising Kyoko for the month.

Hmm.

Yashiro shrugged to himself. He would ponder how to approach that problem this evening, for now though, he was just going to enjoy the rest of his free day and marvel at the brilliance of his plan.

* * *

**Interesting...**

**Oh, um...I was thinking about continuing last years Advent but decided against it. Meaning that this story is just a story on its own. That and I've only read up to book...13-ish...so don't expect it to show any characters or situations after that.**

**:)**


	3. Who is He?

**Ok guys. **

**I don't think that I will always be able to keep up with the length of the previous chapters. Things are getting busy what with Christmas rolling up and all and I'm pretty much finishing them on the day. **

**Yeah, yeah, I know...you'd forgotten about Christmas hadn't you :)**

**So yeah. Just a heads that's all.**

* * *

Advent '08

December 3rd – 22 days to go

* * *

Wednesday.

That meant that today Kyoko would be spending all day in school, going to classes like any other teenager.

She also didn't _want_ to, like any other teenager.

Yesterday Yashiro had specifically asked her to come to his office. He needed her _help_. They had come up with a _plan_.

Well....

Yashiro already seemed to have a plan. But that was beside the _point_. They had come up with a _plan_ and Kyoko felt irritated at the thought that she couldn't be at L.M.E. and helping with that plan.

If she thought that she could get away with it she would just as easily skip school and go in today but she knew she couldn't. The president had gone to great trouble to arrange her schedule so that she could still get an education on top of her work demands and to be honest, she was grateful that he had. Nobody had ever really gone to such great lengths for her before and she didn't like to ask too much in case people thought her rude.

She grinned as she lay in bed.

So, although it was a little stifling having to do something when she really, _really_ wanted to be doing something else she would go into school anyway.

Her decision made, Kyoko threw back her sheets and sprang out of bed. Grabbing her clothes she changed quickly, trying to keep as warm as possible in the cold morning air. She wasn't fast enough and she cursed under her breath as she shivered violently.

Making a face she pulled on her school sweatshirt and grabbed her bag from her chair. Checking her watch she strangled an oath when she realised that she was already running late and rushed out of her room. Clattering down the stairs she waved a good morning and a goodbye at her landlords before rushing out of the restaurant.

Not stopping, she swung herself onto her bike and peddled as fast as she could to try to make up for lost time. She might not want to go to school but there was no way that she was going to marr her record with a late mark.

She wouldn't want to repay what the president had done for her like that. It might not seem like much to others but it would feel like she was being ungrateful if she squandered one of the few gifts she had been given.

And she was anything if ungrateful.

She sped up and was pleased to see the school gates loom into view, students still chatting and laughing as they made their way into the building. As soon as she reached the gates she hopped off.

Brushing herself down she smiled in acknowledgement of the good mornings she received from the students she had come to know from class. Kyoko wheeled her bike through the gates and made her way behind the right wing to the bike shed.

Locking her bike away she stood and checked her watch.

Good, she had ten minutes before the bell rang. Tugging her skirt down she ran her hand through her hair, brushing in back into place from where the wind had tugged and tangled it. Checking her bag Kyoko jogged back towards the main entrance.

The chatter in the classroom was louder and more excited than normal. Kyoko glanced round uninterested. Her classmates had separated themselves into groups of two or three and were whispering between themselves. Every so often someone from one group would rush across to another.

Making her way through the throng she collapsed with a happy sigh into her chair. Dropping her bag down to her side she folded her arms on the desk and rested her forehead on them, letting the voices and noises of a normal school morning wash over her.

The click of the door had Kyoko jerking upright from her position. Standing with the rest of her class she made her good mornings to the teacher and sat down.

"Alright now class, settle down."

The students seemed to quieten down for a moment before the whispers started up again. Every so often one of the girls would giggle. Kyoko looked around in bemusement. She had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Why were her classmates acting like this?

Had she missed something important?

Glancing back to her teacher for some sort of confirmation only served to increase her confusion.

Her teacher, surveying the students in front of her just shook her head and sighed in reluctant acceptance.

Kyoko watched as she rustled around in her bag before bringing out the advanced maths textbook. Holding it to her chest she smiled sweetly at the class of students that were paying no attention to her.

Kyoko glanced around once more, her interest piqued.

Just what was going on?

And why was her teacher letting it go on so?

She froze as she looked back to the front of the class. Waves of dark energy seemed to be radiating off her Sensei. Kyoko shuddered at the sight.

Her teacher was still smiling but instead of making her look sweet it just made her look like she was going to kill something.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down the side of her face. Kyoko tried to wipe it away but she couldn't move, her eyes trained on the terrifying image of her teacher.

For some reason Kyoko knew that one wrong move on her part would unleash the wrath of her teacher.

She also knew that that would be a very, _very_ bad idea.

With every second that ticked by without the students paying attention to what was happening at the front of the room the tension mounted. After two minutes had passed without the teacher saying anything Kyoko's nerves were shot and she was trembling as every muscle in her body clenched in fear.

When the teacher opened her mouth Kyoko actually flinched in anticipation, watching with barely hidden terror as the teacher raised the book above her head and brought it down onto the desk with as much power as she could summon.

The loud crack had every student jumping in shock. As one the whole class seemed to swivel around to look back at the front of the room.

The teacher stood, her head bowed and her hands still curled around the book. She raised her head, still wearing her smile and as one, the whole class shuddered in horror.

"Alright now class, settle down." She said through gritted teeth. This time every student sat facing forward and you could have heard a pin drop in the sudden silence.

The teacher exhaled before straightening and flicking a lock of hair that had fallen out of her bun out of her face.

"Right. I know you are all still excited about the news from yesterday but I would ask you to not disrupt my class even further with your discussion of it?"

She glanced around at the wide-eyed faces of her charges before nodding. "Good. Now, if you could all turn to page fifty six in your textbooks. I expect you to have finished the chapter by the end of the class."

She narrowed her eyes at them once more. Seeing everyone rush to do what she asked she moved and sat at her desk.

Kyoko let out a shaky breath in relief when she thought it was safe to do so. She had never noticed before how scary her teacher could be; she had always seemed so kind and easy-going before now.

Pulling out her textbook Kyoko flipped to the correct page and bowed her head as she began to try and figuring out the answers to the problems. It wasn't easy because as much as she tried to concentrate on maths the more she wondered just what had been announced yesterday to create such an atmosphere within the student population.

---/---

As soon as the bell rang for lunch Kyoko rushed out of the room and away from the tense atmosphere that had prevailed the entire morning.

Bringing along her lunch she made her way outside to try and find a spot where she could eat in peace. After five minutes of searching she found a bench underneath the bare branches of a cherry blossom tree and sat down.

It was freezing but thinking on it, she would rather eat her lunch in the cold than sit inside with her classmates and that strange atmosphere.

"Itadakimatsu."

Breaking apart her chopsticks she dug into her rice, enjoying her bento. While she was eating she thought about what she had overheard.

She knew that something had been announced yesterday, probably in the afternoon when she had been working at L.M.E. as she was sure that she would remember something being announced in the morning.

She also knew that whatever had been announced was big news. Even bigger than normal.

It took a lot to work an entire school of people working in the entertainment industry up and yet, that is what had happened. In every classroom and in every hallway both male and female students were whispering excitedly between themselves.

It made Kyoko wish that she had her own gaggle of close friends so that she could easily ask what was going on instead of having to go up to an acquaintance and look like a fool for asking about something that seemed to be popular and common knowledge.

Kyoko sighed. Her curiosity was killing her but she didn't really know who from her classmates to ask.

She'd ask the teacher but...

She shuddered as she remembered her teacher from that morning.

...yeah, that wasn't a good idea. If one teacher acted like that then all of them could and they were probably all going to be a little tense with all of their students ignoring them that morning in favour of gossiping amongst themselves.

No. Asking a teacher and possibly incurring their wrath was not the way to do this.

What she needed to do was to get close enough to a group to overhear what they were talking about and try and work it out from there. It was a good enough plan and with the knowledge that she obtained she could join a group and obtain even more facts.

She grinned at her own intelligence. The plan was foolproof, what could go wrong? All she needed to do was to find a place where she wouldn't be conspicuous and spy on her fellow students.

She chuckled to herself as she worked out the details before sneezing loudly.

Sniffling, Kyoko searched through her bag for a hanky and blew her nose. The first stage of her plan would to be to get in out of the cold and warm herself up before she made herself ill.

Finishing off the last few mouthfuls of food, she shoved her bento box into her bag and quickly made her way back into the warmth of the school. She sneezed again, drawing the attention of a group of girls who had been standing chatting in the hall. They stopped to stare at her as she walked past and Kyoko felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

Her plan was not going to work if she kept sneezing conspicuously.

She sighed as she blew her nose again.

"I need to buy a coat."

---/---

The afternoon lessons did not go as well as the morning. Their teacher seemed to have become resigned to the fact that she couldn't stop the students from whispering and giggling between themselves.

Of course, this was perfect from Kyoko's point of view.

Instead of being uninterested in the gossip like she had been this morning, she feigned working to listen closely to the group of girls sitting behind her.

"It's all over the school!"

"I know! I've been talking to girls in two other classes."

"I can't believe he's coming here!"

"Well...it is the best choice isn't it?"

Kyoko frowned. The gossip being all over the school she could understand easily enough, she had seen that for herself.

But...just who was this 'He'? Why was this school the best choice? And just what was it the best choice for?

She needed more information. All eavesdropping had given her were more questions that needed answering.

Glancing up, she noticed that the teacher was looking over in her direction she made a few half-hearted attempts at writing own some answers, scribbling down a few words with her pen.

When she was sure that the teachers gaze and attention had moved on she concentrated again at the discussion being carried out behind her back.

"Best choice? Well...yeah I guess so. I'm just glad that I'm here!"

"I know! Forcing my parents to let me come here is making this all worth it now!"

"I can't believe we're actually going to _see_ him!"

"He's so cool! I thought that I was never going to see him, not when I don't even belong to the same agency."

"Those bigger agencies are quite hard to get into."

Kyoko scribbled down another answer.

This 'He' that seemed to be coming to the school was apparently famous and, judging by the reaction of the girls, quite popular. He was also part of a large agency.

Kyoko tensed.

L.M.E. was a big industry...and it did contain a popular male star...

Kyoko's eyes widened. Was Ren coming to her school?

Was this part of Yashiro's plan?

Kyoko was overtaken by a sudden longing to be back at L.M.E. and talking with Yashiro. If Ren _was_ coming to her school why had Yashiro not confided with her when he was outlining his plan?

Surely she deserved to be included in this?

It hurt her to think that Yashiro didn't trust her with this small detail.

If she had known she wouldn't have told anyone, she wouldn't have gossiped about him to her classmates.

Obviously, Yashiro had his reasons but Yashiro had called on _her_ to help with his plan.

She bit her bottom lip in worry.

What was it about her that didn't inspire confidence?

She rubbed her forehead and concentrated one last time behind her. Now that she knew who was coming she didn't really need any more information but it always paid to be more safe than sorry.

"Never mind _just_ seeing him...we could actually be working with him!"

"What?!"

"Yeah! Didn't you hear? It was all over Class Two."

"What is it? What do you mean _working with him_?"

"Well, apparently he's shooting a short video here..."

"That was why this school is the best choice."

"Because we're used to the working conditions in the industry?"

"Yeah."

"But still..._working_?"

"Yeah, I was getting to that. Well, apparently this video he's shooting, it's like...this high school winter romance thing..."

"No!"

"Yes! Anyway...they didn't want to pay to ferry over actors and actresses from their agency so, I heard, that they're asking selected students to play certain parts"

"Oh my God."

"I know! Isn't that so cool! By tomorrow we could be standing side by side with him!"

"A winter romance?"

"Yeah, he's playing the lead male character."

"Have they chosen the female?"

"No!"

"Oh my God! You mean one of us could be starring in a romance opposite him?!"

"Yeah!"

Kyoko flinched at the loud squeal of joy that all three girls made at exactly the same time.

The teacher glared at them and Kyoko hung her head and looked busy, hearing the group behind her do exactly the same thing. She had overheard some very big news and she needed to think about it.

Glancing down at her work, she grimaced.

She also needed to finish off her work as well.

---/---

Settling on her bed that evening, her uncompleted schoolwork scattered around her, Kyoko thought back on everything she had learnt today.

Ren would be coming to her school to shoot a video about a winter high school romance.

By the sound of it, it also seemed that he would be arriving tomorrow and that was what all the fuss was about.

It was odd, to say the least. In all the months that she had known him, Kyoko had never known Ren to take a part in a small video. Though, there was also the fact that she had only known him for a few months so she wasn't really a strong judge on what parts he usually did or didn't take.

Besides, this could all be a part of Yashiro's plan to get Ren to go to the award ceremony.

For all she knew the celebrities invited had to hand in some sort of small example of their work to get judged.

She didn't know, she had never watched or taken part in such a ceremony.

This brought her back to the fact that Ren was going to be shooting a video at her school.

If this was for the awards, then that must mean that Yashiro had somehow convinced Ren to go, or at least convinced him to enter in an example of his work to be judged.

Either way it meant that Ren was not completely adverse to the whole thing.

This brought her to her next thought. If Ren was going to go, then why did Yashiro enlist her help yesterday?

It was all very confusing.

And it still hurt when she thought that Yashiro didn't trust her enough to keep the secret of Ren filming.

Obviously she wouldn't have told anyone, but seeing as the school told the students anyway Kyoko just didn't understand why Yashiro didn't tell her. It made her feel a little left out.

She worked at the same agency as Ren. She should've known that he was coming before her classmates.

She sniffed desolately and rubbed her nose before sighing in frustration and picking up her pen and her maths work.

It was all very well to dwell on her thoughts but they weren't getting her anywhere. Tomorrow was Thursday. That meant that she would be at L.M.E. the entire afternoon.

She would just go up and talk to Yashiro then, ask him why he didn't confide in her.

Until then, the school work that she had neglected in favour of getting the latest gossip called to her.

She had a long night ahead of her.

* * *

**R&R please :)**

**DS**


	4. It's you!

**Because I forgot.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot…and Mine-san...oh, and some other people - but they haven't turned up yet and it would spoil the story and DAMNIT! This is why I don't write a disclaimer until the very end! **

**Hope you're enjoying this!**

**Oh. I just wanted to say that you guys who've reviewed are freaking AWESOME! Completely makes my day - especially as I've been horribly ill the past fortnight. It's always nice to wake up from a fever induced dream to find that people seem to still like my ramblings. :D**

**Shout out!**

**This chapter is dedicated to the three people who reviewed every chapter: WriterofShadow, Marz Bani and Blonde-Existentialist**

**Warning: This chapter is obvious...in _so_ many ways...**

**(Wow! A disclaimer, dedication AND warning?! All in one chapter?! I'm getting good!)**

* * *

Advent '08

December 4th - 21 days to go

* * *

Kyoko woke earlier than usual to complete darkness.

Stretching, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes before fumbling for the light switch. She flinched as the harsh light lit up the room.

"Urgh…" She groaned and rolled over, shoving her head deeper into the pillow.

It was too _early_ for this.

Raising her head a little, she squinted at her watch. Groaning loudly again, Kyoko flopped back down for an extra few seconds before she sighed and pushed herself out of bed.

Shivering as her feet touched the cold wooden floor, she quickly hopped her way over the room until she was standing on the small rug.

With a feat of dexterity, she managed to hook her clothes off the floor and drag them over without ever leaving the only spot in the room where her feet wouldn't freeze.

Dressing quickly, she grabbed her bag stuffed with last nights homework and made her way slowly downstairs; her thick socks muting the chill.

"Good morning, Kyoko-chan."

"Morning." She replied before flopping down to sit at the small breakfast table.

"You're up early; you don't normally have time for breakfast."

She nodded as she helped herself to a portion of the food laid out.

"I know. I just got up earlier today. I think it's too cold to sleep."

"It is rather cold today isn't it? Make sure you wrap yourself up. You don't want to catch a cold. Do you have a warm enough coat?"

Kyoko paused, her chopsticks to her mouth. She swallowed carefully.

"Coat?"

Immediately she knew that this was the wrong thing to say.

"Coat. Yes, coat. You…_do_ have a coat don't you?"

"Um…"

Kyoko blushed at the disbelieving looks she received.

"Well…this won't do."

Taishou watched as his wife bustled out of the room before turning to look back at Kyoko. He grunted once and then finished off his breakfast.

Kyoko watched him as he stood and left the room before her attention was brought back to his wife who hustled in, airing out a brown woollen coat. She smiled when she noticed Kyoko looking at her.

"This is old but I'm sure it will do."

She held it out and Kyoko took it, holding it almost reverently. She looked up, speechless at the gift.

"It's…thank you."

"Well go on. Try it on."

Kyoko smiled and stood, shrugging on the coat and buttoning it up. It fit perfectly. She grinned, tugging down the sleeves and brushing herself off.

"It fits perfectly. Thank you so much."

Tugging her hair out from under her collar, she checked her watch and made a small noise in consternation. Picking up her bag from the floor she made her way over to the entrance hall and slipped on her shoes.

Turning she waved goodbye and slipped out. Unlocking her bike she wheeled it around to the front of the restaurant before swinging herself into the seat and peddling away.

---/---

Kyoko arrived early to the sound of dozens of excited girls crowding around the gate. She had to shove her way through the throng with her bike to get into the yard.

Once through, she breathed a sigh of relief and wiped her forehead. Looking back she shook her head at how her classmates were acting over seeing a celebrity.

It was quite amusing, especially since most of them had already debuted in the industry. Why they were acting like inexperienced fans, Kyoko had no idea.

Though she supposed that it might have something to do with the celebrity appearing being Ren. The man was like a god of acting.

She smiled whilst thinking about him. His skills were mind blowing; he could slip in and out of characters as easily as a fish through water. When she watched him she always became breathless with wonder.

Grinning, she wheeled her bike over to the rack and locked it.

If she was going to be honest with herself, she was quite looking forward to seeing Ren today. She hadn't seen him for days because he had taken a small holiday and hadn't been in.

Well…the president had _made_ him take a small holiday and wouldn't _let_ him come back to work. But it had been a week since then and, even though she was a little hazy on the details, Yashiro had come up with a plan, so she supposed that it couldn't be that long before he would have turned up.

Making her way up to her class she couldn't rid herself of the smile. A few of her classmates looked at her as she entered the room but she blended in with the rest of the excited teenagers who where chattering loudly.

Sitting down in her seat she propped her chin in her hand and stared out of the window at the entrance. The group that had been standing there was slowly being shooed away by some of the teachers.

It looked like they didn't want every student mobbing their guest.

Kyoko's head jerked upright.

What if they didn't allow any students but those chosen for the video to see and talk to Ren? That would be terrible! She had been planning on going up and saying hello and inquiring after his holiday.

If she wasn't chosen then it might be _days_ until she saw Ren, even with Yashiro's plans.

She clenched her fist as pain blossomed in her chest at the thought.

It couldn't be allowed to happen!

She would just have to sneak off and try to find him during lesson time.

Decision made, she absentmindedly rubbed at her chest, wondering why it still hurt slightly before groaning. It must have been from when she had cycled about in the cold without a coat; some sort of mild chest infection.

She sank lower into her seat, embarrassed by her own idiocy.

Fortunately she was saved from anymore self-berating when the teacher walked into the room. Today everyone fell silent almost immediately and quickly went through the proper morning greetings.

The teacher was looking extremely harassed and barely shot them a glance.

"Good morning class. Today will be a bit disrupted due to our guest but I'm sure that we can all be professional about this and it will not disturb your studies too much. Right. Turn to page ninety three in your maths books."

There was a large rustling noise as everyone reached into their bags at the same time. Everybody except for one girl behind Kyoko.

"Um…excuse me?"

The whole class turned to look at the girl who was just tempting fate by drawing the teacher's frazzled attention to herself. Kyoko recognised her as the girl who had seemed so excited yesterday.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering…who is going to be chosen for the filming?"

The students swivelled to look back at the teacher, this time every eye held a glint of hopeful curiosity. Even Kyoko.

The teacher sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Those who were chosen have already assembled in the main hall. If the Head didn't speak to you then you weren't chosen."

There was a groan of disappointment as the students realised that they wouldn't be getting a chance to act. Kyoko too was disappointed but all the teachers statement really did was to solidify her determination.

If she hadn't been chosen to act with Ren then she would have to make sure she saw him. That was all. She would sneak out after this class and go down to the main hall to try and find the group.

Nodding to herself she bent her head to her work. There was less than an hour before she would be seeing Ren.

---/---

Cautiously Kyoko cracked open the door to the main hall. Seventy or so students sat there, talking amongst themselves.

She glanced around the room before frowning. It looked like Ren hadn't turned up yet. That was odd…he was never late to a set.

He _prided_ himself on this record.

She smiled softly as she remembered being his manager and everything that she had done to make sure that this record had not been broken. Her face heated up as she remembered having to look after him when he was ill as well…and trying to get him changed and into bed.

Especially when he had started taking off his top before she had turned around and closed her eyes.

The memory of his toned body stuck in the fore-front of her mind and her heart started to beat painfully fast.

Leaning against the wall Kyoko pressed her hands to her cheeks to try and cool them down. Her cold must be getting worse if she was starting to get a temperature as well as chest pains.

So caught up in trying to cool herself down she didn't hear the front door click open or the sound of people making their way into the entrance hall. It wasn't until the noise suddenly stopped that she looked up and froze.

Sho stood not ten feet away, looking at her with a mixture of shock and surprise on his face.

"Kyoko?"

She opened her mouth but no sound came out. What was this? Why was Sho here? Where was Ren?

Shoko Aki, Haruki Asami and a few others stood behind him. Shoko was looking between Sho and Kyoko worriedly. Haruki had stopped with the rest and was staring at Kyoko, trying to work out why she looked so familiar.

Kyoko took this all in without moving her eyes off Sho.

He was staring at her unblinkingly. Slowly he dragged his gaze down her body, taking in her school uniform and the way it fit her body.

When he finally looked back up at her face, every inch of Kyoko instantly became sensitised. His eyes held so much emotion but it was one she couldn't name. Her attention was caught on his mouth as his tongue darted out, wetting his bottom lip. This time her cheeks flushed for an entirely different reason.

The tension between them was staggering, neither one speaking until Haruki broke the silence.

"Kyoko-chan? I almost didn't recognise you with dark hair."

Kyoko fumbled for a moment for something to say before she bowed deeply.

"Asami-san. It's wonderful seeing you again."

Haruki moved forward until she was standing between Kyoko and Sho.

"Have you been chosen? I didn't see your name on the list but it's wonderful if you are! I have the perfect role for you!"

Kyoko swallowed. Her face was still flushed from just before but now she was also embarrassed at being caught out.

"Actually Asami-san, I haven't been chosen. I was just going to the bathroom because I felt a little faint, that's why I was here."

Haruki looked disappointed for a moment before her face lit up. "Well, you'll just have to be added to the list then."

"What?"

"Seeing you has given me inspiration. You must take the part. Please?"

Kyoko was speechless. Be in the video? Work with Sho? That wasn't exactly what she had had in mind. She had thought Ren was going to be here. She had been waiting for Ren!

Ren…

Suddenly inspiration hit her. She modelled her face into one of contrition.

"I'm sorry Asami-san, that will be impossible, you see…I'm only in school at certain times in the week. L.M.E. has requested that I go into work during the other half."

"Oh." Haruki looked disappointed. "When are you here?"

"All day Monday and Wednesday and the mornings of Tuesday and Thursday."

"Hmm…"

Kyoko breathed a subtle sigh of relief when it looked like she had evaded spending time with Sho. Holding her breath she tried to edge out past the thinking Haruki. She had almost made it when Haruki shot out her hand and clamped down on Kyoko's arm, grinning.

"You're in school pretty much everyday except Friday right?"

"Y-yes?" Kyoko answered cautiously.

"Well then! That's no problem."

Kyoko's eyes widened

"What do you mean that's no problem. Aren't you filming today and tomorrow?"

Haruki waved off the question, her hand still clamped on Kyoko's arm.

"No, no. We're auditioning for roles today and tomorrow. We don't start filming until next week."

"Oh."

"Also. With you taking the main role as a certainty it's one less that we have to worry about."

"T-the main role?"

"Yes. After the acting in Sho's last music video…you're the only one that I know would be able to pull off the character."

"Oh…" Kyoko said faintly.

Haruki smiled and let go of her arm.

"I'll see you on Monday then. Please meet here at eight sharp."

"O-okay."

Haruki nodded and then waved behind her, signalling to the group to go into the hall.

"Goodbye Kyoko-chan."

"G-goodbye Asami-san."

When the door clicked closed and Kyoko was left in the empty entrance hall she sank to the floor wondering what had just happened.

---/---

As the group made their way up to the front of the main hall Shoko stared at Sho from out of the corner of her eye.

He had been caught completely off guard when he had spotted Kyoko.

And there was _no way _she could have missed his obviousness when he had checked her out.

What had been interesting was that Kyoko had blushed at the attention, even though she supposedly hated the boy.

Shoko raised her eyebrow. She wasn't going to deny it, she was curious at what exactly the relationship now was between the two. After all, it had been almost a year since Kyoko had thrown the food at them and declared her revenge.

Making her way up the stage steps she sat down next to Sho. He seemed a little out of it still and she had seen the look he had given when Haruki had somehow managed to rope Kyoko into starring opposite him.

She snorted in amusement. That boy was more obvious than he realised. She swallowed her smile when she saw he was glaring at her until he turned back to looking ahead at the students sitting in front of him, then she allowed herself to smirk.

Waiting until Haruki started to address the students about how the auditions had been organised she leant sideways, closer to where Sho was sitting.

Watching for his reaction she whispered quietly to him.

"I didn't think that Kyoko-chan would be here. And Asami-san getting her the role opposite you?"

Shoko had to bite her bottom lip to stop herself grinning as she spotted a blush appear on his cheeks. It was faint but it was still a blush.

"I didn't know she was going to be here and I have no idea what Asami-san was thinking."

Shoko leant back into her chair, allowing Sho to get the last word. It was obvious that he didn't really feel completely adverse to the situation…no matter how much venom he tried to inject into his voice.

It all added up to one thing.

A very interesting video shoot.

---/---

Instead of going back up to class for the rest of the morning Kyoko had just walked out of school and slowly made her way over to the L.M.E. building in a daze.

She arrived two hours early but sat in one of the cafés across from the building trying to work through what had happened, running over and over the conversation again and again. Each time she couldn't figure out what she had done wrong.

And now she was starring opposite Sho in his new video.

She blinked. Wait…

Wasn't his video supposed to be a winter romance?

She groaned loudly, drawing the attention of the other patrons of the café and dropped her head onto her arms.

What on earth was she supposed to do? She couldn't back out now…not when Asami-san was already auditioning. If she went back now she would be late for work and she couldn't go in tomorrow either.

After that…well…

After that the auditions would be over and if she backed out then she would be letting everyone down.

…not that she wouldn't mind letting Sho down for once…

She sighed. No, she couldn't do that. It just wasn't in her nature. Besides, if she backed out then Sho would come up with some comment.

She could see it now. He would call her something like coward or amateur and make it known across her whole school that she couldn't act.

No. That wasn't acceptable.

She would just have to do the best she had ever done and show everyone that she was a professional.

Checking her watch, she dug out the correct change and left it on the table before exiting and walking across the street into L.M.E., checking that her bike was still chained in the same spot she had put it those two hours previously.

Inside, Kyoko was grabbed by a harassed looking Yashiro who winked at her conspiratorially.

"Kyoko-chan, I'm so glad to have caught you, everything is so busy and I was afraid I had missed you."

"Yashiro-san? What is it?"

"You remember our plan?"

"Yes…?"

"Well, Ren comes back into work tomorrow so it starts then. Okay?"

"Okay, Yashiro-san. I won't let you down!"

He smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder.

"I know you won't Kyoko. Just remember…tomorrow. And don't say anything to him."

Kyoko smiled in return and watched as he rushed off to do whatever job was next on his list. Her attention was caught when she heard her name being called out.

Searching through the crowd she spotted Kanae pushing her way over to her.

"Moko-chan!"

She smiled as she watched a look of pain cross Kanae's face at how loud she had yelled her nickname. Elbowing a pushy man out of her way Kanae finally managed to make her way over to where Kyoko was standing, ignoring the man's loud protests at how he had been treated.

"Bunch of loud idiots."

Kyoko didn't wait for Kanae to say hello and instead grabbed her into a big bear hug.

"Kyoko-chan? What are you doing?"

"I haven't seen you in weeks! How was your shoot?"

Kanae pried herself out of Kyoko's embrace before smiling.

"It was good. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out."

They started making their way over to the employee only staircase, dodging in and out of people rushing about.

"When does it get aired?"

"Oh, not until sometime in January."

Kyoko smiled at her friend.

"I can't wait."

Kanae blushed slightly.

"It wasn't that big of a role…"

"That doesn't matter. It's a role _you_ played."

Kanae cleared her throat and instead of answering she thrust a long piece of paper out for Kyoko to look over.

Kyoko frowned and scanned over the list. There was over sixty bullet points.

"What's this?"

"That," Kanae said, pointedly. "Is the To-Do List that we have to complete. Sawara-san gave it to me when I came in. About five minutes before you showed up."

Kyoko's eyes widened and she re-read the list again, this time paying more attention to what was actually written. It was true, it was a To-Do List.

"When's it got to be completed by?"

"The end of today."

Kyoko stopped dead in her tracks.

"We have to finish this? By the end of the day?"

"Pretty much."

Kyoko groaned. Today just wasn't going well. She glanced over the list once more before following Kanae once again to the locker room so that they could get changed into their work uniform and an afternoon of rushing around.

---/---

Kyoko groaned in pain as she flopped down onto her bed. Her feet hurt so badly. She had spent the whole afternoon and a little way into the evening with Kanae, rushing around the building completing job after job.

When they had finished and reported so to Sawara-san she had spotted another list even longer than today's sitting on his desk waiting for tomorrow.

Just thinking about it made her feet throb in pain.

She rolled over and shuffled herself under her duvet, switching off the light and closing her eyes in exhaustion.

She was asleep almost immediately.

* * *

**:D**

**Okay, okay...so some of you had already guessed. That's right - Sho! Sho's here! Yaaaaaay!**

**Oh wait...most of you aren't ShoKyoko shippers...pffft, oh man - you are _not_ going to be happy! Ha ha ha ha ha. **

**But...I'm not about to shoot myself in the foot - the main pairing is still up for grabs so - tell me what you think!**

**Guess what _my_ favourite pairing is why don't you? :D**

**Oh! Does anyone have any opinions on what I can call Taishou's wife? I can't find her name anywhere in the books or on the internet.**

**DS**


	5. The Plan III

**Does anyone else feel Christmassy yet? It snowed on the first and my toothbrush has frozen a couple of times this past week. You got any Christmassy Winter stories?**

**If you don't you should probably start singing carols or something. Heh heh - everyone feels Christmassy when forced to sing carols.**

**Dedication: To the reader in Singapore who had given me my first hit literally in 30 seconds of posting. I am inspired by your awesomeness and I wish I knew your name to dedicate this to you properly. This chapter is also dedicated to Devilishduck who read and reviewed practically all of Advent '07 before reviewing all of Advent '08. Thanks to both of you!**

**Warning...again: Obviousness..._again_.**

**(Too bad Kyoko doesn't get it)**

* * *

Advent '08

December 5th - 20 days to go

* * *

Standing in the locker room of the L.M.E. building Kyoko tugged nervously at her uniform. Kanae was watching her from where she stood by her own locker but Kyoko ignored her.

Peering into the small mirror on the inside of the door Kyoko fluffed her hair, trying to brush it into something that resembled a style.

"You know, it doesn't matter how much you try to tame it. Your hair seems to have made it's own decision."

Kyoko sighed in resignation and closed her locker door. Kanae narrowed her eyes.

"Just why is it that you seem to be spending so much time on your appearance today? You don't normally."

"Um…no reason. There's no reason at all."

"It's just that I wonder. Is there something special that you're doing today?"

"No!" Kyoko cleared her throat in embarrassment "I mean…no. There's nothing. I just have to see Ren that's all."

Kanae's eyes lit up with an evil glint. She smirked as she crossed her arms and leant against the lockers.

"_Ren_, eh?"

Kyoko shivered like a rabbit caught in headlights. She glanced at her friend warily.

"…Yes?"

She knew immediately that this was the wrong thing to say.

"So, let me get this straight. You're making yourself _look pretty_ for _Ren_?"

"No. It's not…that's not…"

Kanae raised her eyebrow at Kyoko's fumbling. Her smirk turned into a full grin when Kyoko started to blush.

"You're _not_ making yourself look pretty for _Ren_."

"No…"

"Which is it then?"

Kyoko took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

"Well. It's a bit of both. Yashiro-san came up with this plan -"

"Yashiro? You and he have a plan?"

"Yes."

"Involving Tsuruga-san and you looking pretty for him."

"Yes. No. Yes. Well…"

"Well?"

"Sort of…? It's Yashiro-san's plan. He just wants me to try and convince Re…Tsuruga-san to go to this award ceremony thing at Christmas."

"Oh, hey! I heard that that was on. I've always wanted to go. It was like, the prettiest award ceremony slash ball ever."

"Yeah, so you see. It's nothing really. Yashiro just wants Re…_Tsuruga-san_ to go and he has a plan."

"Involving you."

"Yes."

Kyoko tugged at her hair once more before pushing past Kanae and out of the room. Kanae stared at the shutting door.

"_Ren_, eh? I think I need to have a little chat with Yashiro-san."

---/---

It was the middle of the morning before Kyoko got the message from Yashiro to implement their plan.

Standing behind a corner she nervously tugged at her hair before peeking into the corridor beyond. Ren and Yashiro were deep in conversation walking towards where she was standing. She leant back against the wall and took a couple of deep breaths before stepping out with a smile on her face.

"Tsuruga-san."

Ren blinked at her sudden appearance before he smiled softly.

"Kyoko-chan, is there something you wanted?"

Kyoko felt warmth spread throughout her body at the sound of his voice. Then she realised what he had asked and balked. Yashiro hadn't ever given her an excuse to talk to Ren, just that she had to convince him to go to the awards.

She glanced quickly to Yashiro but the look on his face led her to believe that he had just come to this conclusion as well. She fumbled for something to say for a moment, tugging on her cuffs. Ren stood patiently, waiting for her answer.

Kyoko glanced at Yashiro again and this time Ren followed her gaze, raising his eyebrow when he saw who she was looking at. The smile dropped from his lips.

"Do you want to talk to Yashiro-san, Mogami-chan?"

"No!"

Kyoko blushed as Ren raised both eyebrows at the forcefulness of her rejection and Yashiro turned away to try and muffle his amusement.

"I…I…actually…wanted to talk to you. Alone."

Ren's smile returned. He glanced at Yashiro who made shooing gestures at him to tell him it was ok before turning back to Kyoko.

"Lead the way Kyoko-chan."

Kyoko led Ren into the nearest unused room which just happened to be a storage room for costumes. Ren closed the door after them and leant against it, watching as she stood, biting her bottom lip in worry and embarrassment.

She had dragged Ren here and had absolutely no idea what to say or do to justify it.

Sometimes she hated her impulsive nature.

Frantically, she cast around in her mind for something to say or ask. Anything really, anything to break this awkward silence.

Ren seemed quite happy to stand in silence looking at her, but she was sure that his mind was on something else and that he was silently thinking that she was wasting his time.

Suddenly a thought popped into her head.

"Um…" she started, unsure where her thought was going to lead her. "Tsuruga-san? I was wondering if I could ask for your advice?"

Ren looked interested.

"Of course you can Kyoko-chan. What is it that I can help you with?"

"W-well…you see…there's going to be a short video shot at our school. A winter romance."

Ren stayed silent, allowing her to work through what she was going to say without pressure. Kyoko breathed in deeply.

"I was asked by the director to take the main female lead."

"And you're worried because you're unsure whether you can get the character right?"

"We-well…sort of. I don't know whether I can act romantically with my co-star but I want to do this well. I don't want to be seen as being unprofessional or as someone who can't act certain roles. Asami-san chose _me_ specifically because of previous experience and I don't want to let _her_ down either."

"Ah, I see. Well, it's good that you don't want to let down your director."

"A-and there's another thing."

"Hmm?"

"It's a music video. For Sho Fuwa."

Ren stiffened, his face a blank mask. Kyoko stared at him. Why had she decided that this was the right topic? She was supposed to get him to go to the award ceremony, not tell him about her own problems.

Yes, Sho was a problem but she couldn't for the life of her work out why she had told Ren. It wasn't necessary for him to know.

It had just seemed like a good idea and she had blurted it out.

She felt chills creep up her spine when Ren smiled at her.

"Well. I'm sure that you won't have any trouble acting out the part once you start. Now, if you don't have anything else, I need to go."

Still smiling, he turned and went to open the door. Knowing that something bad was going to happen if she let him leave Kyoko did the only thing she could do and grabbed the hand that was on the handle, holding it there so that he couldn't leave.

Her eyes widened at her own audacity and she hung her head, not allowing herself to meet his eyes. She could feel his gaze, hot upon her skin, almost as hot as his hand under hers. Her heart was thundering in her chest.

"Wait."

Her voice was faint and sounded scratchy. She cleared her throat.

"Wait…I. I really need your help."

She was begging but she didn't really care at this point.

"I don't know what to do. I don't want to work with him but I can't let Asami-san down and I don't think I'm going to be able to do this properly."

Silence. Kyoko held her breath while she waited. It had cost her a lot to admit this to Ren and she wasn't one hundred percent sure why she had, but when she felt him relax beside her she felt relieved.

"Okay."

She looked up, her cheeks flushed. Ren cleared his throat.

"Don't worry Kyoko. You're a good actress. You've managed to work with him before, haven't you? Just…take your determination to not let down the director and channel it into your acting. You'll get it."

"Is that what you do when you work with someone you don't want to?"

"Yes."

Kyoko smiled.

"That must be why you're such a good actor. All that determination? Your fans love you for it."

Ren tensed but stayed silent.

"I heard you were invited to the Winter Award Ceremony. Is it true?"

"Yes, it's true."

"Well, it wasn't like there was any doubt really. Everyone loves you Tsuruga-san. They're going to love seeing you on television there."

"Really?"

"Oh yes."

"You think I should go?"

Kyoko crowed on the inside. Finally, she could answer and convince Ren that he should go and show Yashiro that she was reliable to help him.

"Of course! Who wouldn't want to go? It's one of the best awards out there and it's making its comeback this year! It's going to be a landmark event with millions tuning in to see their favourite stars! It's an honour just to be invited! I'm sorry that I'm going to miss being there in person."

Kyoko nodded before peering closely at Rens face. From where she was standing and the shadows cast by the light, it looked like his cheeks had been tainted a faint pink. But that was ridiculous and she brushed away the idea.

She was just happy that she had turned the conversation towards the awards and from the sound of Ren's replies, he wasn't that put off of the idea of going.

Her smile increased at the thought that she had managed to convince Ren to go in such a short time.

They stood in silence for a while, Ren thinking over what Kyoko had said and Kyoko just watching him, happy that she had helped Yashiro. The plan seemed to have worked.

It wasn't until Ren stared at her intently that she started. Mortification rushed through her as she suddenly realised that she was still holding his hand over the handle. She let go as if she had been burnt and blushed furiously.

"Um…um…I…thank you for the help." she managed to stammer out as she stepped back and away from where she was blocking the door.

Ren looked at her for a moment longer before smiling and opening the door

"You're welcome Kyoko-chan."

Kyoko dropped her head into her hands as soon as the door clicked shut.

---/---

Yashiro was waiting quietly outside the door the entire time, wondering just what they were doing that was taking them so long.

His eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. Ren couldn't…could he? He blushed at the thought and cursed under his breath at the thickness of the L.M.E. doors and the fact that he couldn't hear one thing that was going on.

He would, quite happily at this very moment, give up his right arm to hear what was being said…or done…behind that closed door.

Pacing in frustration he was entertaining the thought of just barging in and making up some excuse. The only thing that held him back was the thought that Kyoko might be in the middle of trying to get Ren to go to the awards and if he barged in at that delicate time then his plan would be ruined.

He needed Ren to go to the awards and he needed Kyoko to convince him. His own plan wouldn't work if it was anyone other than Kyoko and there was no way that he was going to give up this plan _now_. Not after the last plan turned into such a failure.

He was reliving the spectacular failure when the door in front of him clicked open and Ren emerged from the room.

Yashiro managed to get a quick glance at a blushing Kyoko before the door shut. Turning Yashiro focused all his attention on Ren who had resumed walking with him and waited for Ren to say something.

Ren, however, was staring at his hand in what seemed to be equal parts amazement and bemusement, opening and closing it slowly as if he was trying to get the feeling back.

Curiosity turned to irritation when Ren showed no signs of talking.

"So?"

Ren blinked and visibly came back from his own thoughts. Yashiro had never seen him so open before.

"Hmm?"

"What did Kyoko-chan want to talk to you about?"

"Oh. She was having a little trouble with a new role and asked for my help."

Yashiro frowned.

"Really? Was that all?"

"Of course. Why would there be something else."

"It's just that…if she was just going to ask for your advice…wasn't dragging you into a storage closet a little much."

Yashiro smirked inwardly as Ren tensed.

"No. There was just that. She wanted to know how I coped with working with people I don't want to. I told her."

"And?"

"And that was it."

"You were in there an awfully long time for just that."

"Well…the conversation turned to the awards that are coming up at the end of this month."

"Oh really?"

"She seemed interested in them, saying that she was sorry that she was going to miss being there."

Yashiro had to stop himself from laughing out loud. Kyoko had completely surpassed his expectations.

"It sounds to me like she wants to go."

"Hmm…"

Ren fell silent in thought as they walked and Yashiro allowed a small smile to cross his lips. His plan seemed to be working perfectly. He walked in silence next to Ren as they passed in to the next corridor, neither of them noticing the sharp gaze on their backs.

---/---

It was near the end of the day when Lory sent out the message that he needed to see both Kyoko and Kanae in his office before his visitor arrived for their appointed meeting.

The girls both arrived quickly and stood to attention on the other side of his desk. If they were a little put off by his sombre appearance neither of them said anything. He smiled at them.

"Girls. I have a favour to ask of you. Is it possible for both of you to come in over the weekend to decorate?"

He knew he was asking a lot. Both Kyoko and Kanae weren't supposed to work weekends because they weren't legally adults but he was stuck for an alternative.

To their credit they both didn't immediately turn him down on principle. He watched as they thought through his request before glancing at each other and conducted a silent conversation between themselves.

After a few moments they both turned back to face him.

"Yes, we can come in."

He smiled widely and held his arms out.

"Wonderful!"

He was interrupted when his door flew open and a garishly dressed woman strode into the room.

"Ah, Harumi-chan. You're early." He turned his attention back to the girls. "Kanae-chan, Kyoko-chan, thank you for your help. Please be here at eight tomorrow."

They nodded and shot curious glances at Harumi before the door closed behind them. Lory sighed and turned his attention back to his guest. He frowned when he saw that she was staring at the door, a cunning look plastered across her face.

"Lory-kun, which one of those was Kyoko-chan?"

Lory's frown increased. He had to be careful around this woman. She was an old friend but she didn't hesitate to use anything and everything to satisfy her own agenda. Despite this Lory couldn't think of any reason not to differentiate the two girls.

"Kyoko-chan was the one with the short hair."

Harumi smirked and sat down in the chair in front of his desk. Suddenly Lory had a bad feeling.

"Really? Now that's interesting."

He shuffled some of the papers on his desk, weighing the pros and cons of asking her just what was interesting. Business won out in the end.

"It may well be interesting Harumi-chan, but I was wondering if we could discuss the award ceremony at the end of this month?"

She waved him off, completely uninterested in the subject.

"It's all on schedule. You know, I still have no idea how you managed to convince me to bring it back, especially after what happened at the last one."

Lory knew how he had managed to convince her and his bank account was still recovering.

"Nevertheless, I still think we should discuss arrangements as too -"

"Did you know," Harumi said, cutting him off, "that that Kyoko-chan is part of some plan concocted by Ren-kun's manager?"

This caught Lory's attention.

"She is?"

"Cunning piece of work he is. If I was twenty years younger…"

"Harumi-chan," Lory said patiently, bringing her out of her musings, "What plan are you talking about?"

She grinned at him.

"Oh, I don't know the details but it seems to me like it's not just one plan either." She leant forward and whispered conspiratorially, "From what I could make out, it sounds like he's trying to get Ren-kun and that girl to go to the awards _together_."

"Really."

"He's playing them like fools!"

She laughed joyously at the idea. Lory leant back in his chair and thought about what he had just learnt. This was very interesting. His attention was caught again as Harumi motioned at him.

"I was wondering Lory-kun, if you wouldn't want to make a little wager on the situation."

"A wager?"

"Yes. For say…_half_ of what you paid me to bring back the award ceremony?"

Lory raised his eyebrow and steepled his fingers.

"And what exactly did you have in mind?"

"I say that even if those two go the ceremony together, nothing will happen. From what I remember of Ren-kun he's a stubborn boy."

Lory had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from celebrating.

"Then I say that something will happen."

"But we can't get involved at all. Is it a wager or not?"

He shook her offered hand, inwardly smirking.

"No involvement. It's a wager."

* * *

**Ha ha - just looked at what I have planned for tomorrow. It's probably going to be a short chapter...though I keep saying that and they stay the same length...but no - this time is definitely going to be a short chapter.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed todays update. I'm goin got go and start on tomorrows update so...see ya! :D**

**If you're not Christian then have a happy holiday (if you get one). If you don't have a holiday then I wish you peace and goodwill anyway and have a happy holiday the next time you have one.**

**Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa la la la laaaaa la la la laaaaaa…**

**DS**


	6. The Plan IV

**Lol. I got a review yesterday that just…totally made sense. AND it allowed me to give Yashiro a reason - doesn't really change anything in the story - just adds the funny. **

**Dedication: This goes out to The Dragon Guardian of the Sea for the inspiration :D**

**Urgh. Decorations. Bleurgh. This is probably going to be a short chapter. Also it's unedited at the moment (yes - you get to see my raws!) but I'll be posting the edited version later.**

**Edit: Ok, edited version is now up.**

* * *

Advent '08

December 6th - 19 days to go

* * *

Kanae grumbled under her breath as she mopped the floor. Taking a break she stood straight and stretched out her back, hearing her spine click into place. Kyoko stood ten feet away from where she stood and was still working hard.

She had been working hard all morning.

It was very suspicious. _Especially_ since the only reason that they were mopping right now was because they never finished yesterdays To-Do list. And, from what Kanae could work out, the only reason that they didn't finish that list was because Kyoko had disappeared off somewhere for an hour yesterday.

"Hmmm."

Kyoko tensed at the noise and looked up.

She looked frightened. Which really only served to make Kanae more suspicious. Where had she gone yesterday? What had she done?

Thoughts tumbled through Kanae's mind as she tried to figure out different scenarios that fit.

Kyoko had been quiet ever since she had come back yesterday. Kanae thought that it might have been because she was feeling sorry that she had run off and abandoned her with everything to do.

Kanae 'hmmm-ed' again and looked Kyoko over carefully.

Yesterday she had been pissed and had completely ignored her friend, choosing to believe her own version of what had happened. Now though…

Now she wasn't so sure she had been right. Kyoko had been wearing a very faint pink blush the entire morning and Kanae _knew_ that that had nothing to do with feeling sorry.

It looked like something had happened. Something to make Kyoko _blush_.

Kanae smirked. It looked like she was going to have to go talk to Yashiro as soon as possible. Today if she could manage it.

Until then…

"Hey Kyoko-chan?"

Kanae watched with amusement as Kyoko started violently.

"Y-yes, Moko-chan?"

"I was wondering…where did you run off to yesterday?"

Kyoko fumbled for a moment to find something to say, her mouth opening and closing.

"Nowhere. I didn't go anywhere."

"Really? I only ask because you've been awfully quiet…"

"Quiet? I haven't been quiet! Look! See? I'm just as I always am!"

"And now you're covering. That's even more interesting. Just what did happen?"

"Um…er…I don't know what you mean…?"

Kanae just looked at Kyoko. She didn't honestly expect her to believe that did she? Well, there was always more than one way to crack a nut. Feigning hurt, Kanae placed her hand over her heart.

"You…you don't want to tell me? Don't you trust me Kyoko-chan?"

"Ur…"

She sobbed a little and buried her face in her hand, the other still holding the mop.

"I thought we were _friends_."

Peeking between her fingers she was pleased to see that Kyoko had fallen for her play, hook, line and sinker and was now staring at her with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Moko-chan! We _are_ friends!"

"Then why won't you tell me? Did someone say that you couldn't? Are you in trouble? Are you keeping secrets from me? Friends don't keep secrets from one another!"

Kyoko was visibly starting to crack. Kanae felt a little guilty at the fact that she was manipulating a friend with her acting skills but she squashed down that feeling. She couldn't afford to feel guilty, she had to find out what was going on around here.

Her curiosity was killing her!

So caught up in her thoughts , Kanae was taken completely off guard when Kyoko tackled her round the middle, knocking the wind from her.

"Ooof."

"I'm sorry Moko-chan! I didn't realised that you were so upset! Don't be angry, I'll tell you!"

Kanae tried to pry her way out of the bone crunching hug she found herself stuck in but gave up after a few failed attempts. Kyoko seemed completely glued to her, luckily she could still breath in a _little_.

"K-kyoko-chan?"

Kyoko either ignored her or was completely absorbed in her apology that she just didn't hear her desperately trying to gain her attention.

"I'll tell you everything! Don't be upset anymore!"

The breath that Kanae had managed to regain caught in her throat as Kyoko squeezed harder. She could also feel her ribs grinding against each other and it was not a pleasant feeling. Unfortunately she now couldn't draw in enough air to call out Kyoko's name anymore, instead she could only manage a wheeze.

"Kyoko-chan."

Fortunately Kyoko chose that moment to let go of her and Kanae sucked in a gulp of air gratefully.

Okay…she had forgotten how good her acting skills were along with Kyoko's tendency to over-react to anything pertaining to friendship. She surreptitiously rubbed her ribs.

Urgh. Those were going to bruise in the morning.

"So? What's going on?"

"Well, you know how there's that winter award ceremony ball thing?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, Tsuruga-san doesn't want to go. So Yashiro-san asked me to help try and convince him."

"Help. _Yashiro-san_ convinced _you_ to help get _Tsuruga-san_ to go to the awards?"

"Yes."

"…why?"

"Because he'll disappoint his _fans_ if he doesn't!"

"Yes. Because I can see that."

Kyoko smiled happily and Kanae managed to smile and not show her own disbelief at Kyoko's…Kyoko-ness.

Patting her friend on the shoulder she went back to mopping the floor, biting her bottom lip to prevent herself from wincing in pain when she tried to twist.

Something just wasn't right here. Kyoko had said that Yashiro had wanted her to convince Ren to get him to go but why couldn't he have just done that himself? He was Rens manager for goodness sake! Surely if he put his foot down and said it was for the good of his career Ren would have to listen.

If that didn't work he could have just gone to see the President.

No.

There was something going on around here and she was going to find out what and then after that she was going to get in on it. She was not going to be denied.

And it all led back to just one person.

Yashiro.

---/---

Kanae was finishing off one of the last jobs on her list for that day when she caught a glimpse of Yashiro on his own entering his office. Remembering her decision earlier that morning she smirked and quickly followed him.

Forgoing knocking on his door she entered quickly. Yashiro jumped in surprise and quickly shoved the top draw of his desk closed. Kanae shot him a confused look and raised her eyebrow. She _had_ come to confront him about Kyoko and whatever he had planned but he was acting suspicious himself and that just made her want to find out why.

Locking the door behind her to prevent escape she eyed Yashiro in a predatory manner, her gaze flicking down to his desk. She was going to have to get him away from there so she could get into the drawer before he knew what she was doing.

Yashiro narrowed his eyes and straightened up, standing next to his desk.

"Kotonami-chan? Is there something I can help you with?"

First things first though…

Kanae strode over to him before poking him in the chest with her finger.

"I don't know what you're up to Yashiro-san but I _do_ know you're up to _something_."

She smirked when Yashiro began to look uncomfortable.

"I don't know what you're talking about Kotonami-chan."

"Nonsense. You have a plan don't you? Are you trying to set Kyoko-chan and Tsuruga-san up?"

"How did you know?"

Kanae grinned as she caught the slip.

"Well, I wasn't sure until just now."

She watched as realisation slipped over Yashiro's face which was quickly followed by despair.

She was not prepared for Yashiro grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him. Caught off balance she let out an involuntary gasp as she fell into his body. She jerked her head up, prepared to yell at him but the look he was giving her silenced her admonitions.

It was a look of pure evil.

She swallowed in fear.

"You're not going to say anything about this to anyone. Do you understand."

Shivers raced down her spine as his silky voice slipped over her skin. Wide eyed, she nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"_Wonderful_. I am _so_ glad. I _was_ hoping that you would."

He smiled but something in her rallied up. He was still holding her to him, pulling her off balance, so she reached up and fisted his shirt.

"Wait one moment."

He seemed surprised that she could move and that buoyed her even further.

"I want in on this."

"Really? Why?"

"You're trying to get them to go to the Winter Awards right?"

"That is correct. But how did you -?"

"I put two and two together. I'm not an idiot." She smirked. "Besides, it's what I would have done."

"Interesting. So what do you want?"

She paused. She wanted to know what he had shoved in his top draw but she also wanted to see what was going to happen with her friend.

Hmm…tough decision.

"I want to go. Managers of invited stars are invited too. When Tsuruga-san takes Kyoko I want you to take me. Besides, I wouldn't want to miss _that_ sight."

"You want me to let you in on my plan and take you to the awards?"

"Of course."

"And you won't stay quiet if I don't?"

"Nope."

She watched as he processed the situation.

"This is blackmail you know."

"Are you complaining?"

Yashiro smirked down at her.

"Ok. You've got yourself a deal."

"Wonderful. Now, how about you tell me all about this plan?"

Yashiro slowly let go and they separated cautiously, still smiling at one another.

"Of course, Kotonami-chan."

She moved around him and sat on his desk, crossing her legs and leaning back on her elbows.

This was perfect. She was in on the plan, she was going to get to go to the award ceremony and from this angle she could easily hook open the drawer and get whatever he had hidden away before he could stop her.

She was so busy formulating her plans that she completely missed the way that Yashiro was looking at her or the faint line of pink that appeared on his cheeks before he regained composure of himself.

"You might as well call me by something less formal if we're going to be working so closely."

Yashiro nodded and swallowed sharply, before outlining what he had planned and what needed to be done.

After he had finished Kanae sat lounging on his desk thinking through what he said. It was, all in all, quite a brilliant plan.

She smirked. Brilliant. And she was going to be a part of it and see it happen whilst it happened.

Glancing over at Yashiro, she saw that he was busy looking pleased with himself. Grinning with him, she slipped her hand back and slowly opened the draw. Feeling around slowly for the paper bag she kept grinning. After a few moments standing like that Yashiro narrowed his eyes.

"Kanae-chan? Just what are you -?"

She interrupted him by whipping out the bag and laughing triumphantly. She was prepared to be yelled at, to see horror pasted across his face when she held his big secret in her hands.

She was not, however, prepared for him lunging across the room trying to reach the bag that she held out behind her. She arched back trying to keep it out of his reach but he just kept reaching forward until she was flat on her back, pressed against his desk.

But, no matter how much he stretched, she stretched just that little bit more.

It was a stalemate.

Yashiro was breathing heavily, one hand planted on his desk to keep his full weight from crushing her completely, his fingers tangled in her long hair. She too, was a bit out of breath, but that was mostly from the shock at having him lunge across the room at her than having him practically lying on top of her.

She cleared her throat and watched as Yashiro turned a fascinating shade of red but didn't move.

"Yashiro…san?"

"Kanae-chan. Give me back my bag. It's rude to go through other peoples drawers."

She pouted up at him, giving him her best puppy dog eyes.

"But I was curious. I thought it might have something to do with the plan."

"Well it doesn't. Can I have it back now?"

"No. I want to see what's inside."

"Kanae…" he growled warningly.

"Oh, please? Please?"

He paused, thinking about it for a moment before shaking his head absolutely.

"No. You'll just laugh."

Kanae quickly made herself look serious.

"I won't. I promise."

Yashiro was torn. He dithered for a moment longer before finally coming to a decision. He peered at her.

"You promise?"

"Yes. I promise."

He sighed and lifted himself off of her and brushed himself down before polishing his glasses, his head down.

Kanae narrowed her eyes at him and slowly sat up. Seeing that he wasn't going to look at her anytime soon she opened the bag and tipped the contents of it onto her lap. A bright orange book fell out.

Placing the bag onto the desk beside her she reached down to flip it over so she could read the cover title.

"'Jump Melody' volume twelve?" She asked in disbelief. "You read Shojo manga?"

Yashiro blushed darkly and kept his eyes on the floor, waiting for her laughter. When it didn't come he slipped his glasses back on and glanced up. His jaw dropped when he saw that instead of sneering at him she was instead flipping through the pages, reading it.

"What are you doing?"

"Reading it. I didn't know volume twelve had come out already. You don't mind, do you?"

Yashiro was speechless.

"Um, no…you go ahead."

Kanae glanced up from the page and smiled.

* * *

**Why…is everyone so oblivious? And why do I get the feeling that I should be raising the rating of this?**

**What do you think of the story so far? We're just over a fifth of the way through. Do you feel that everything is moving alone nicely? Is everything clear so far?**

**And I so want to read Jump Melody my fantastically made up series.**

**DS**


	7. Worries

**Ok, ok. So…last chapter wasn't really decorations. It was **_**meant**_** to be…I was all prepared for it to be a boring filler chapter but noooo…it turned into this weird Kanae x Yashiro thing. **

**This chapter is going to be decorations.**

**Hopefully.**

**Unedited version up for now - edited version will be up later.**

**Edited version is now up.**

* * *

Advent '08

December 7th - 18 days to go

* * *

The day dawned…eventually. Kyoko and Kanae were already at L.M.E. and hard at work. They had managed to get quite a lot of work done yesterday, despite having had half of Friday's list left to complete.

All they really had left to do was to finish putting up the decorations in the main entrance and that was it. Unfortunately, the main entrance was the biggest room in the whole building with twenty five foot ceilings and a massive square foot of floor, which added up to even more wall space.

In short, it was going to take nearly all day for the two of them to decorate it.

Fortunately it was a Sunday and there was only the cleaning crew and workaholics in the building, so decorating the room wasn't going to be that much of a problem. It was certainly going to make the job go faster and Kanae could see the logic behind the president asking them to come in over the weekend.

At that very moment Kyoko was perched twenty feet up in the air on the top of a tall step ladder decorating the large Christmas tree that Lory had got in for the entrance hall.

Kanae was standing at the bottom, holding it steady. Boxes of decorations stood piled around her feet over spilling onto the floor.

Sighing, Kanae peered upwards at her friend who was busy decorating the very top section of the giant tree. Leaning back she 'hmm-ed' and narrowed her eyes in thought.

Now that she knew what was going on and was in on the plan she felt a bit more comfortable but something about Kyoko was still bugging her and she was going to find out.

One: Kyoko thought she was in on Yashiro's plan. She would be happy about that, so that wasn't it.

Kanae crossed the possibility off her mental checklist.

Two: Kyoko was seemingly acting happy and not betrayed so she hadn't found out about the larger scale plan involving herself.

Three: She had only seen Ren once in the past week and not even Kanae was sure that she could manage to upset him in the brief amount of time that they had spent together.

At least she _hoped_ so. A sulky Ren was not one that she was looking forward to dealing with if something _had_ happened.

Luckily, if that was the case then it would be up to Yashiro to try and coax Ren out of his hissy fit and not her.

All she would be having to deal with was Kyoko. Which was stress in itself sometimes if she was going to be honest. Sometimes she just thought about leaving Kyoko to tire herself out before she tore her own hair out.

She thanked God for being able to find relief in comics.

Though it _had_ been a surprise to make _that_ little discovery yesterday. Kanae wasn't sure that she had ever seen Yashiro looking so flustered.

She smirked to herself as she remembered.

But back to the topic at hand. As far as Kanae could work out, nothing had happened at L.M.E. to warrant Kyoko's current behaviour. This meant that is was something _outside_ of L.M.E.

Kanae cursed in annoyance.

Outside meant that she had to guess as she had no idea what went on in Kyoko's life outside of these walls and what Kyoko imposed upon her. Luckily she was able to guess pretty accurately when needed.

Squaring her shoulders, she focused all her attention on her friend and tried to work out the problem.

---/---

Kyoko shivered as cold chills ran down her spine. She peered around herself, looking for some sort of clue before risking a glance downwards. She shivered again when she saw the look Kanae was giving her and almost fell off the ladder.

Catching herself at the last moment she clung to the step and berated herself at her clumsiness as her eyes followed the bit of tinsel that was falling to the floor from where it had slipped out of her hands.

Gritting her teeth together, she exhaled sharply through her nose. She had been out of it all morning and this wasn't the first accident that she had managed to save herself from.

She was distracted and it was all Sho's fault.

Ever since the announcement and her subsequent roping in to the part she had managed to push the thought of what she was going to have to do to the back of her mind.

On Friday she had been too excited about helping Yashiro with his plan and seeing Ren again to pay much attention to the details.

Sure, she had mentioned working with Sho to Ren but she had changed the topic as soon as she could and trying to get Ren to the awards had pushed any thoughts from the forefront of her mind.

Focusing so entirely on Ren and her mission had distracted her completely so that, even when she went home that night she didn't think about it.

Yesterday she had been too busy to think at all. She and Kanae had rushed around the building the entire day finishing off the jobs that they hadn't been able to complete on the Friday, cleaning and setting up as many of the decorations on the offices as possible.

She had had barely enough time to breath, let along worry about anything that wasn't to do with finishing off the lists and wondering what decorations to put where.

When she had gotten home last night she had been so tired that she had immediately crashed, sinking into a dreamless sleep.

Today was a different story.

Because of all the hard work that they had done yesterday, all they had to do today was decorate this hall. And they could afford to take it a little easier.

Unfortunately, this meant that Kyoko found that all her repressed thoughts were hitting her all at once and she found herself worrying over what was going to happen tomorrow. It was too late to back out now and she had already made a professional decision to not back down to anything that Sho tried to dish out to her.

Despite this she still had misgivings and doubts about herself.

Could she do this?

She had asked Ren on Friday for his help and advice but at the time she had been trying to wheel the conversation around to the awards and she hadn't paid much attention to what he had said.

What she really needed was a friend. Someone she could talk to about what she was going to do and understand from her point of view.

She started violently and nearly fell back off the ladder again when Kanae suddenly appeared before her.

"Kyoko-chan?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you ok?"

"Moko-chan? What are you doing up here?"

Kanae held out the piece of tinsel in answer and Kyoko flushed, taking it from her.

Keeping her eyes downcast, she picked nervously at the tinsel in her hands, trying to build up the courage to ask for Kanae's advice.

"Um…Kanae-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Could I ask you for your opinion on something?"

Kanae looked down to the ground from where they were both balanced precariously on the top of the ladder.

"Can it wait until we're not twenty feet in the air?"

---/---

Back on the ground, Kyoko and Kanae sat side by side in silence. Kanae waiting and Kyoko still picking at what was left of the tinsel.

After a few minutes Kanae was getting a little impatient at the time it was taking for Kyoko to organise herself. She cleared her throat pointedly.

Kyoko started before grinning bashfully.

"Ah, sorry. I was thinking."

Kanae nodded. She was curious but she was also getting a little worried. Kyoko _never_ acted this morose and she was starting to wonder just what Kyoko's problem was.

"It's just…I'm confused."

"About what?"

"On Thursday I was asked to star as the lead female role in a short video being shot at our school."

Kanae narrowed her eyes.

"Right…?"

"It's a music video."

"I…don't see what the problem is…"

"It's Fuwa's music video."

"Oh."

Kanae frowned to herself. Sho was back in the picture? This was bad, he could easily ruin any plans that Yashiro had made. He had a bad habit of turning up at the most awkward of times and messing with Kyoko.

It also didn't help that Kyoko let him wind her up until all her focus was on him.

Kanae hadn't believed it herself until she had seen it with her very own eyes. It had been a long time since she had first believed her friend a fan of Sho.

And whilst she didn't know the exact history between them she did know that Kyoko would tell her if she thought it important. Besides, this was one thing that Kanae was going to reign in her curiosity about.

She could only hope that Ren hadn't found out about this yet. That would have made things so much worse.

"I asked Ren-san his advice as well."

There went that thought.

"So the problem you have…? Exactly?"

"I'm just…it's a romance. I don't know if I can do that with him. But…I can't back out now as I don't want to seem unprofessional."

Kanae stayed silent to let Kyoko vent all her pent up feelings and worries.

"I wasn't even supposed to be there! It was just because I thought…"

Kyoko trailed off and blushed. Kanae shot her a teasing glance.

"You thought what?"

"…nothing."

Kanae snorted.

"So, let me get this straight. You're worried because you have to act opposite Fuwa-san in a romantic video and you don't really want to. But you can't back out because you don't want to be unprofessional?"

"Yeah."

"Well…it's good that you don't want to be unprofessional…"

"That's what Ren said."

"Well, he was right. You may be doing something that you don't really want to but gossip spreads fast. If you act unprofessionally towards one person then it gets around the industry pretty fast."

"Yeah."

"Look, just…_try_. You never know, he might just be himself and ignore you?"

"Really? You think so?"

"Yeah! Besides. You can always ignore him, or pretend he's someone else if you have to."

"Hmm…that's actually a good idea!"

Kanae smiled in return to the grin Kyoko gave her and watched as her friend bounced up, seemingly happier and more at peace and went back to work. She waited until Kyoko had turned around before letting her own smile drop from her face.

This was bad.

She needed to talk to Yashiro as soon as possible.

* * *

**Short chapter.**

**I hate this one so much. Please ignore the quality please. Tomorrow's update should be better.**

**Again, I'm sorry.**

**Urgh.**

**DS**


	8. Filming I

**Sorry about the late update - I've been in class all day.**

**Well…here we go - at school and Sho's here! God, I love that character! He's so elitist and bad and always wears leather! Mmmm…**

**You shouldn't worry about the story though…much… :D**

* * *

Advent '08

December 8th - 17 days to go

* * *

Kyoko arrived early to school that morning, completely focused on what she was going to have to do.

She was also a little excited, if she thought about it. After all, it wasn't very often that a director passed you in a corridor and wouldn't take no for an answer. Asami-san had chosen her because she had proven herself on screen before and she was now one of the first picks of the woman.

That was why she was excited.

It certainly wasn't because of any other reason, like Sho being there…

It was just a coincidence that he was going to be there and she was going to out-act him once again. All she had to do was tap into whatever had happened the last time she had worked with him.

She was grinning as she opened the main hall doors and walked in.

Twenty students sat in a group at the front of the room, chatting eagerly between themselves. They were excited and it showed. She closed the door and walked over to them. So these were going to be her co-stars?

There were a lot more of them than she had first thought there would be, she wondered who was going to play what role and why they needed so many people in the first place.

Making her way down to the group she sat on the outskirts. Now that she was here waiting for the director and Sho to turn up she was starting to feel nervous.

The students next to her had quietened down a little when she had sat near them and were now shooting her looks. She ignored the looks she was getting but she couldn't block out what they were saying.

"Who's that?"

"Did you see her at the auditions?"

"I think I recognise her from somewhere…"

"Has she debuted? If she hasn't then I don't want to know."

"Wasn't she in that TV Drama?"

"I don't know…she looks like the part…maybe she's just a fan?"

"What do you think she's doing here? Do you reckon she thinks she can get in if she just joins us?"

"I don't care about her. She is definitely extra material."

"Do you think that they've made a decision about the female lead?"

"No, they wouldn't make that sort of decision straight away."

"I hope I get it!"

Kyoko flushed slightly in embarrassment and annoyance. They thought that she wasn't good enough and dismissed her within earshot. They were being rude and it made Kyoko angry to think that others in the industry didn't think that she was worth anything.

Her determination riled up.

Well, if they thought that then she would show them! _She_ was the main female lead, not them. _And_ she had been chosen straight away. The director had taken one look at her and demanded that she take the part.

She would love to see the expression on their faces when they found out _that_ little tidbit.

The doors clicked open behind them and they all turned to look as Sho and his consort strode into the room. Kyoko turned with them, nervous flutterings in her stomach as she caught sight of the group.

But that was because she was nervous of what was going to happen over the next week…not because she was looking at Sho…dressed in tight black leather trousers and an open shirt.

Definitely not because of that.

Clearing her throat, her gaze followed their progress. As Sho passed her he glanced at her, his mouth softening into a small smile. Kyoko blinked in shock. When she looked at Sho again he had passed her and his face was once again blank of any emotion apart from annoyance and boredom.

Kyoko frowned but was quickly distracted by Haruki Asami standing up to address the students who were going to be taking part.

"Thank you all for coming. As you may have guessed, you sitting here means that you were successful in your audition to star in Fuwa-san's new music video. Myself and my team reviewed your auditions and we have designated parts in accordance with which parts that we feel you would be able to act the best. After I have finished speaking I will call out your names and what role you have been assigned. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah." One of the girls to Kyoko's left called out, "Who's going to be the female lead?"

"Well, I would have come to that, but if you can't wait. Mogami-san is going to be playing the leading female."

Kyoko blushed slightly as she felt every eye turn to look at her.

"But she wasn't even in the auditions! Isn't it unfair that the female lead goes to someone like that?"

"Mogami-san didn't audition because I specifically asked her to play the part on previous experience. Now, is there anything else?"

No one said a word but Kyoko could still feel waves of resentment from every female student in the hall. Rolling her eyes she ignored them and focused instead on the list of characters that Haruki was reading out.

The bulk of the students were going to be playing the characters for crowds and scenes where there was a lot of students, like the classroom scene or the hallway scene. There were only two big parts next to her, the girl who would be playing her rival and the boy who would be playing Sho's best friend.

After the character list had been read out Haruki gave them a shooting timetable of which scenes would be shot when and where. Each student was given one that was highlighted the specific slots where they would be needed.

Looking down at her timetable, Kyoko saw that Haruki had written it so that the times that she was back at L.M.E. were the times where the scenes that she wasn't in were going to be shot. These consisted of Sho's singing shots and the scenes between Sho's character and his best friend.

Taking a deep breath, Kyoko mentally prepared herself. The first shoot was going to be starting in an hour and she had to get ready before that. She needed to be calm and peaceful to work with Sho. The man was a jerk and he had thrown her for a loop when he had smiled.

He must have done it on purpose.

She shot him a dirty look and was surprised to see him already looking at her before his lips twitched into a smile.

For some reason, she had a feeling that this was going to be a long day.

---/---

The first scene of the day was an outdoor scene, taking place under the bare branches of the tree that Kyoko had sat under not one week ago. The scene in the video was supposed to be Sho serenading Kyoko as she sat on the bench.

There was going to be a few shots taken. One of just Kyoko, one of Sho and Kyoko acting like a newly formed and embarrassed couple and the last was going to be the same scene but this time Sho would be singing.

The first part went really well. Kyoko sat by herself on the bench making shocked expressions at something off camera and blushing on cue. It was over quickly and no one could say that Kyoko had acted unprofessional or had been a bad choice based on the work she had produced.

Haruki was ecstatic and allowed them a small break as she looked back over the shots.

The next shot was the silent couple shots. Kyoko and Sho were put at the end of one of the pathways. All they had to do was walk alone the path together looking nervous.

This was easy enough because Kyoko _did _feel nervous.

Sho had been acting weird towards her all day. She had been prepared for the Sho she knew, the one who wouldn't hesitate to look down on her or pick up on any mistakes that she made.

She had _not_ been prepared for him to act nice towards her.

It reminded her of home.

Walking besides him she blocked out everything. There was no director, there was no crowd watching her every movement with him and there was no cameras.

There was just herself and Sho walking down a path side by side.

She shot a glance at him from under her lashes. Her eyes widened when she saw that he had turned to look at her at exactly the same time. Blushing she quickly turned her head away.

This was so embarrassing. It was like she was on a date with him! This was exactly how she always had imagined it would be when she was younger.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she was startled when the director shouted cut.

They then had to repeat the shot over and over as the camera focused on different parts of them at different angles. By the time lunch rolled around Kyoko was exhausted at the rollercoaster of thoughts and feelings that she had been experiencing.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she learnt that she didn't have to stay with the rest of the crew to eat. Picking up her lunch she walked away to find a secluded spot somewhere where she could think.

---/---

Mimori Nanokura sat fuming at her desk.

She watched as her Sho-kun and that Mogami girl got cosy together through the window.

It should be her down there! She was a better actress than Kyoko _and_ she even belonged to the same agency as Sho!

They had spent time together, they _knew_ each other. She was obviously the logical choice! What had happened?

"Makes you sick doesn't it."

Nanokura glanced as one of her many friends sat down beside her and stared out at the proceedings going on below them.

"I thought _you _were going to be chosen. I can't believe that Mogami girl got the part."

"I heard that the director took one look at her and wouldn't let her say no."

Nanokura twitched in annoyance as another one of her friends came up and sat beside them.

"That can't be true." Nanokura scoffed. "Who would want to use someone like that as their first choice?"

Inside she was seething. She had acted with Kyoko once before and she had been impressed by her skills.

But that wasn't something that she was going to just go spreading around. Especially when her Sho-kun was busy having that harpy draped all over him.

Even if the director saw her in the halls and remembered her from the last video they had made, surely _she_ would have still been the first choice?

_She_ was the better actress out of both of them. _She_ was the one that could get a shot in a single take. And _she_ was the one who knew Sho the best and was in love with him! It would be easy for her to act on the camera.

Annoyance bubbled though her veins.

Kyoko had stolen her part.

She would pay.

---/---

After lunch was over Kyoko felt nervous. She had no idea what was going on with Sho at the moment.

During her solitary lunch she had found some time and space for her to really sit and think about what he was up to and how he was acting. The whole thing had her confused.

He was acting as he had, all those years ago, when she thought he might actually care about her. But that couldn't be right. That Sho had just been a scam to get her to do everything that he wanted and to get himself out in the world.

Hadn't it?

She wasn't sure anymore. If she didn't know any better then she would say that Sho was acting like he was in love with her.

Well, that was easy enough. He _had_ to act like that for the music video.

But…it didn't explain why he acted like that towards her when the cameras stopped rolling.

Was he just staying in character? Was he messing with her head on purpose because he thought it was funny?

Or was he just trying to extend the hand of friendship so that they could work together without ripping each other apart?

She felt apprehensive and unwell when she thought about it.

Arriving back where the crew had set up, she slipped through the crowd. A flash of blond hair caught her attention almost immediately and as she looked over, Sho caught her eye from where he was talking with his agent.

A pleased look spread across his face and Kyoko looked away embarrassed. Was he taunting her that he seemed to be the only thing that she saw at the moment? She didn't know. Annoyed with herself for her reactions she turned to find the director to ask about what direction she would like to take the next shot.

She needed any distraction she could get.

---/---

She was once again sitting on the bench. Sho had his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders ready for when the camera would start rolling. This was the shot where he would sing. They didn't need the music playing because they were going to dub in the studio recorded track later to minimise interference but they needed Sho to sing now so they could match up his lips with the words.

Haruki gave the signal and the cameras started to film. Sho waited for just a moment longer before he started to sing. As soon as the words left his lips everyone fell silent.

Sho had the most wonderful voice. There was a reason that he was one of the best male singers in the entertainment industry.

Kyoko stared up at him from where she was snuggled under his arm.

Unaccompanied as he was, the power of his voice was amazing. It was raw and filled with emotion and there was a slight catch as he gazed down and stared into her eyes. She stared back, completely awestruck by what he was doing.

She trembled when he reached out and gently touched her cheek with his fingertips, lightly caressing her skin.

Was this what it was meant to be like? Was this what it felt like to be loved by someone and only be seen by him?

She had no control over her own body and just sat there in a state of awe.

He was still staring into her eyes, his face holding a weird mixture of emotions that she couldn't work out. The words washing over her, filling her senses.

She found herself feeling lost and a little confused when his voice died away. Everyone sat in silence for a few moments, waiting for the director to yell cut. Even then, Sho still stayed in the same position for a minute longer, his fingertips lightly stroking her skin.

Kyoko felt confused but didn't want to break whatever trance he seemed to be under. What if this was like coming down from a natural high he got when he sang? She wouldn't want to ruin that and besides, she got the feeling that this was special and that she would regret it if she did.

She watched with bated breath as he slowly blinked. When he next looked at her Kyoko was sure that she could see sorrow flash through his eyes but it was gone before she could really register it.

He sighed softly and moved away, dropping his hand into his lap. Kyoko felt the loss keenly and was surprised.

What exactly was wrong with her?

Watching as he stood and made his way over to his agent, Kyoko wondered about herself and what had just happened. She had no clue what she was going through or how to deal with any of this and she wished that she had someone her to talk to so that she _could_ work it out.

Smiling weakly in response to Haruki, Kyoko stood and made her way over to the small tent where she had dropped off her bag so that she could go home.

If tomorrow was anything like today she was going to be in for one hectic ride.

**Ah, Sho. I really want to hug him!**

**Hey, question…would you read a ShoKyoko story? Or would you refuse to and then never look at anything with my name on it again? (lol - extreme) **

**I mean…I know there are a few ShoKyoko fans out there but I was wondering about the main RenKyoko shippers - would you read ShoKyoko at all? Or would you burn it?**

**DS**


	9. Filming II

**Well, from yesterdays responses I've concluded that most of you would read a ShoKyoko…if it was done right.**

**Now, I'm not saying that this will turn out to be a ShoKyoko - but then again I'm not saying that it _won't_ either.**

**: D**

**Nah, seriously? You guys rock. So I'm going to tell you. The main pairing is [Error 404: Text Not Found] **

**So you see? Well, whatever pairing you support I hope you enjoy this.**

**Dedicated to my editor - WriterofShadow who wouldn't give me a long review because of the pairing in the last chapter. You amuse me so, dear friend of mine.**

* * *

Advent '08

December 9th - 16 days to go

* * *

It snowed during the night and Kyoko had woken up to a world blanketed in white.

Now she was standing outside wrapped up tight in her coat and waiting for the filming crew to set up. It was before school had started and there were students milling past hoping to catch a glance of Sho.

The man in question was standing, chatting with his agent and the director. Kyoko wanted to go over but she didn't want to impose on anything. So she stood by herself and thought about what had happened over the last few days. And just what was going on with herself.

She had no real clue as to why she was acting this way. Sho was here and she should be feeling distant or angry even, but she wasn't. He had smiled at her and she had felt butterflies and she didn't know why.

Now she wanted to go over and talk to him? It was like she had been put under a spell and she couldn't break free. She didn't even have anyone who was close to her here to help her break out from whatever she was under. The soonest she was going to see anyone was going to be this afternoon and she had a feeling that that may be too late.

She sighed and blew on her hands. Things were not going well.

She was so caught up in her musing that she didn't notice Nanokura stalking past where she was standing and talking loudly to the group of girls that were surrounding her.

"I can't believe that she's acting so unprofessional! Fancy begging the director like that to get a part in the video opposite Sho-kun."

Kyoko flushed in embarrassment and turned to stare at the group, she wasn't the only one either, a group of men setting up cameras also turned to look to see who was talking. Turning, Nanokura smirked at Kyoko before she started up again.

"She must be _sooooo_ in _love_ with him if she would go to _that_ length. It's disgraceful if you ask me."

The group burst into cruel laughter that faded as they walked further and further away. Kyoko flushed harder when she realised that the men were now all staring at her and whispering between themselves.

She was incensed!

How dare she?!

How dare she say those things in front of the people she was working with? How dare Nanokura make her out to be some sort of hussy? She wasn't a hussy! If anything _Sho_ was the hussy, living with that agent of his while she paid for everything he wanted.

He _used _her and now he was acting like it had never happened!

Turning slowly she glared at him. He was still laughing and chatting with the two older women. Her anger increased.

And Nanokura thought that she _wanted_ to be with him? That she had _begged_ Asami-san to give her the part? It was completely untrue.

That bastard had broken her heart. There was no way that she would go out of her way to try and spend more time with him? _That_ wasn't likely.

Sho suddenly stopped laughing and shivered violently. Kyoko watched as the jerk looked around himself, trying to find the reason he was feeling like his life was in danger.

He had broken her heart without ever giving her a second thought.

He was going to regret that, she would make sure of it.

---/---

It was nearing the middle of the morning when they got to the last scene Kyoko would be filming that day. She had gotten through the morning barely able to restrain her anger at having to work so close to Sho and hold back.

He was still acting weird towards her, smiling and so on. If she didn't know his true character she could have sworn that he was trying to be _nice_ to her.

Ridiculous.

Sho was heartless through and through.

And, even though they had had to take a few re-takes she had managed to live up to Asami-san's expectations. Sho had asked her if everything was ok after one of the re-takes but she had brushed him off.

Of course everything wasn't ok, but it wasn't for the reasons that he thought and him standing there being all concerned had not helped. It made him seem like a nice guy to anyone watching when really, Kyoko knew that he was anything but.

The last scene was a difficult shot. They were outside still and were going to have to waltz through the snow as a part of a montage sequence. Sho had donned a tuxedo and Kyoko had been dressed in a white cotton dress with an emperor cut. Silver trimming ran around the edges and she sparlked when she moved.

She was standing impatiently while Sho got the last minute instructions of the director before he made his way over to her and waited until Asami-san had called action.

Taking her hands he led her around in a gentle circle. Kyoko was stiff to begin with, unable to get past the fact that he was holding her close and had his hand on her waist. She let him spin her, increasing the pace.

He was staring into her eyes and she could see the love in them. He was a good actor and she could admit that he was out-acting her at the moment because she just couldn't get past the fact that everything he had ever been to her was one big lie. He _was_ out acting her but she wasn't happy about it, in fact it made her angry that he could ruin the one thing that she was doing for herself.

The waltz finished with an elaborate twirl and she ended up held tightly in his arms. They paused for a second, Sho staring into her eyes. Kyoko stared back. She had always _hoped_…always thought…always dreamed…but no.

He had hurt her and things were never going to be the same.

Sho leant down slowly, his eyes sliding shut and his lips parting slightly.

He was a fool if he thought otherwise.

Without thinking Kyoko clenched her fist and punched him as hard as she could in the stomach.

His eyes shot open and he let out a big 'oof' before folding in half and crumpling to the floor, gasping for breath.

Kyoko stared at him for a moment in complete silence as she tried to figure out what had just happened. There was silence on the set as everyone stared at her with wide eyes before Shoko called out.

"Sho-kun? Oh my God, are you alright?"

Sho was still on the floor, curled into the foetal position. Shoko rushed over to where he was lying and triggered everyone else into movement. The crew turned and started gossiping between themselves and Asami-san rushed over to where Kyoko was standing.

First making sure that Sho was going to be ok she turned to Kyoko with incomprehension in her eyes and dragged her off to the side so that they could have some privacy. Kyoko was too stunned by her own actions to protest.

"Kyoko-chan? What happened?"

"I…I don't know?"

"What do you mean? He was about to kiss you, it was a great moment! And then you punch him in the stomach?"

"I..I…oh no…I ruined the shot?"

Asami-san sighed.

"Well…no. I could work with what I've got. But it would have been better with the kiss."

"I honestly don't know what came over me. He was just there and it just happened and it's all just a big blur."

Haruki gripped her shoulder.

"Do you think that that's going to happen again? I can't have you working for me if you're going to punch the main character."

Kyoko was horrified. Was she going to get fired for this?

"I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"

"That's a relief. I don't want this to happen again when the scripted kissing scene is shot."

Kyoko's eyes shot wide open. _Scripted kissing scene_?

"Look." Haruki was talking again. "I don't think we're going to get anything else done this morning as Fuwa-san will need some time to recover. Why don't you go to your agency and work out what happened? We'll pick up filming your shots tomorrow, okay?"

Kyoko nodded, feeling dazed. She had come close to being fired but had been given a second chance. Though with what else she was going to have to do she was unsure about whether this was a good or bad thing.

She glanced over to where Sho was being helped up off the ground and into a small awning that had been set up for the crew and actors to have their lunch. Sighing, she pinched the bridge of her nose.

She really needed to talk to Kanae about all of this. She'd know what to do then as she couldn't act like this again.

…no matter how good it felt to punch Sho in the gut.

---/---

The bad thing about Ren having long legs was that Yashiro sometimes had to jog to keep up with him, especially when he strode about the place. This only happened when he was deep in thought and forgot to regulate himself.

Fortunately Yashiro had long legs too so when this did happen he didn't get too out of breath.

"Ren-san? Are you ok?"

Yashiro watched as Ren started and looked over at him.

"Yes? Why wouldn't I be Yashiro-san?"

"Well. It's just that you're practically running and you only do that when you're thinking too hard or worrying about something."

"That isn't true."

"Yes it is. Now, which is it? Thinking or worrying?"

"Yashiro, you're confused. I'm not worried about anything nor am I thinking too hard. It's just too cold to be standing in one place for too long."

"Uh huh."

Yashiro kept silent for a few minutes, eyeing Ren's back. He smirked.

"I wonder how Kyoko-chan is doing with her filming?" he remarked casually, delighted to see Ren's shoulders stiffen.

"I'm sure she's fine."

"Yes, yes. Hey, what exactly happened when she dragged you into that storage room?"

This time Ren stopped completely and Yashiro had to quickly hide his smirk as he turned to look at him.

"She asked for my advice."

Yashiro waited for a few seconds before sighing in annoyance.

"And?"

"And what? That was it. She asked for my advice and then we talked about the awards. You know all this already."

"Yes, you're right. And I still think she was hinting that she would like to go."

Ren brushed him off. "No. I don't think so."

"Yes, I do. I'm sure that if you talk to her again you'll see. She wants to go and she wants you to take her."

"Yashiro. She wasn't hinting at anything. Besides, I'm not even going to the awards so how can I take her?"

Yashiro shrugged.

"I'm just offering my opinion to you on the subject."

Ren turned and started to walk away again.

"Well it is unneeded, thank you."

Yashiro fell into step behind his charge in silence. Ren might believe himself to be not going but he was, really, and it was all due to Yashiro. By mentioning Kyoko, he had planted a seed of doubt into Ren's mind that was going to grow the more he thought about it.

Yashiro grinned. His plan was developing wonderfully.

---/---

Kyoko arrived at work that afternoon desperate to talk to Kanae. Unfortunately that was not to be, as she soon found out that Kanae had been called away to re-do some of the speech for the project that she had been working on in November.

Kyoko groaned when she heard the news. Now who would she talk to?

Taking a break from her cleaning work, she sighed and sat on the steps. This wasn't good. She needed to talk to someone so that she could get past this block she found herself against. She was also worried rumours about what had happened would be spread about her.

Urgh. This was bad.

Dropping her head in her hands, thoughts ran through her mind.

She was so caught up with mentally disgracing herself that she didn't notice when a shadow fell across her. It wasn't until she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat that she looked up.

"Kyoko-chan? Is everything ok?"

"No." She answered in a small voice. Ren frowned at her response and sat down beside her.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm going to get kicked out of the industry after I am shamed and disgraced."

"And why would that happen?"

"I…I did something bad. Something unprofessional."

Ren blinked twice and raised his eyebrow. Kyoko was acting completely out of character.

It made him want to hug her.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"Oh, it was."

"Well then, what happened? I might be able to help."

Kyoko looked at him for a moment, weighing whether or not to tell him about what happened. One the one hand she really needed to talk through this with someone but on the other this was _Ren_.

In the end her needing to talk won out. She sighed and started her story, keeping her eyes trained on the floor.

"Well, you know how I asked you for your advice on the video? Well, I was filming today, a dancing scene with Sho-kun. And…he went to kiss me."

Kyoko paused and took a deep breath, unable to continue because she was so mortified by what she had allowed herself to do. Ren stayed silent beside her, looking stony.

"And?" he asked shortly.

Kyoko flinched at his tone and took another deep breath. "And I punched him in the stomach."

There was silence. Kyoko kept her eyes on the floor, sure she would see condemnation at her unprofessional-ism in Ren's eyes. A weird choked, snorting sound had her looking up in bemusement.

Ren was sitting there, looking at her and biting the insides of his cheeks to keep himself form laughing. It wasn't working very well.

As soon as she looked at him he couldn't control himself and he dissolved into laughter.

"It's not funny!"

He tried to pacify her but he was laughing to hard too get any words out. This only served to incense her more which added more fuel to his amusement until he was leaning forward and clutching his sides.

Kyoko watched him, her mouth hanging open before his laughter infected her and she joined in with him as well.

---/---

When they had finally calmed down they sat in a comfortable silence until Ren cleared his throat.

"So. You're worried that rumours are going to spread because you…because of what you did?"

"Yeah. I don't want people to think I'm unprofessional."

"Kyoko-chan. Not everyone is going to like you. There are some people who are going to be determined to hate you when they've never even met you or know who you are. It happens to everyone, even me, so I wouldn't worry over what someone says or thinks. Your fans will stick by you."

Kyoko opened her mouth to protest that no one could hate him when she remembered with sudden shameful clarity her own hatred towards him before she had changed. Her face fell.

"I'm also worried about not being able to act like I love him tomorrow. I really will be seen as unprofessional if I can't act out a basic emotion."

Ren looked at her, his expression thoughtful and a little apprehensive.

"You could always think of him as being someone else. Someone you're in love with?"

Kyoko blushed furiously. "I'm not in love with anyone. I can't fall in love. It's impossible."

A myriad of emotions passed across Ren's face.

"Well," he said slowly, "has there never been anyone you've loved before?"

"I use to think that I was in love with Sho-kun. That was before he called me plain and boring and I found out he used me."

Ren looked shocked at the omission Kyoko had made. He hadn't known this about Sho. He schooled his face into something that was politely curious.

"Has there been no one else?"

"Well," Kyoko started apprehensively, "there was someone…but he left."

"Who?"

"You'll think it's stupid."

"I promise I won't laugh or think it's stupid. Who was it?"

"Well. There was this one person. His name was Corn and he was a fairy prince. I thought I was in love with him too."

Ren was stunned. "What happened? Are you still in love with him?"

"I don't know. He was a prince. Sometimes I wished he had taken me away to his palace and saved me. But then I thought that Sho-kun had done that and then he left me too."

"Do you hate this…Corn?"

Kyoko looked sadly at Ren.

"I could never hate him. I just wish I could see him again. I want to thank him."

"Why?"

She smiled sadly.

"Because even though he left me too, he also saved me in a way. I couldn't have gotten through some of the things I did without his help."

"Then that's your answer. Pretend Fuwa-san is this 'Corn' person when you act. It's obvious that you don't hate him so you should be able to overcome not being able to act cordial."

"Do you…really think that would work?"

"Yes. After all, if it works for me then it'll work for you."

Kyoko jumped up happily. "Thank you so much Ren-san! I'll do just as you say." She waved goodbye to him as she ran down the steps, off to finish the jobs that she had left and completely free of worry.

Ren sat in silence as he watched her leave, thinking furiously.

* * *

**Ha ha - she punched him in the gut!**

**You see? You should never mess with a girl, it just turns out bad.**

**And you _know_ that this is going to be canon someday in the future. Kyoko's revenge! Ha ha ha ha. Don't get me wrong, I do love Sho…but he's so easy to _hurt_.**

…**did that sound wrong to any of you?**

**Also, I find it amusing that Kyoko basically confessed everything…without realising it. **

**Thanks for all of the reviews so far!**

**DS**


	10. Filming III

**I'm glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter. Hopefully you'll enjoy this one too :)**

**It was mentioned that I've never done Sho's PoV yet, so here it is! What better time than when he's scared witless by Kyoko's mood swings? Ha ha ha ha ha.**

**This one's dedicated to alphaomega1st who gave me my 100th review. (Of course, _that_ wouldn't have been possible without the reviews of everyone else so thanks to you too! You will all get mentioned.)**

**Short chapter today. Am ill and there's nothing much planned.**

* * *

Advent '08

December 10th - 15 days to go

* * *

Once again it had snowed during the night. Luckily for Kyoko and the other actors and actresses Haruki had decided that today they were going to shoot all the indoor scenes for the video. They were all very grateful for this.

Gathering in the spare classroom that had been allocated to them they waited for the crew to set up and finish getting everything ready.

Kyoko had already been through wardrobe and make-up and was just trying not to move very much in case she wrinkled the costume or just generally ruined the outfit. It had happened before and she was not taking any chances with it.

She tugged on a lock of her hair as she watched the crew rushing backwards and forwards and the actors and actresses milling about chatting with one another. They kept shooting her glances but she ignored them.

Instead, she thought about what happened yesterday and her talk with Ren.

She had asked for help and he had sat down and taken time out of his busy schedule to do so. She was touched.

Nobody had taken time out of their own lives to teach her anything when it wouldn't help them or when it wasn't their jobs. Sho's parents had taught her but only because they were planning for her to take over the inn for them and marry their son.

They weren't trying to help her, they were trying to raise someone who would be a perfect wife and who would rule things exactly the way they wanted.

She wasn't exactly angry at them for it. She even understood why they did so…sort of.

Her teachers helped her because that was their job. Heck, even those at L.M.E. only helped her and taught her because they were paid to…

But Ren hadn't had to do anything. He could have said something nice and meaningless and then walked away.

But he _didn't_.

He had let her tell him her worries and her secrets and he hadn't judged. Yes, okay, he had laughed but she couldn't hold that against him because she had laughed with him as well.

She was going to try his advice. He had said it was what he did at times when he couldn't get the emotion down and he was right, if it worked for him then surely it would work for her.

She had started to wonder about who he thought of when he did have to act but quickly caught herself. It was rude to speculate on someone's private feelings. Especially the private feelings of so great a man.

Eventually the crew were ready and the students placed in their positions. Kyoko breathed deeply to try and calm herself. She had to get into her zone before Sho came in and she became to irritated with him to act like she was in love.

Closing her eyes she focused her mind on Corn and what she could remember of him. The scene slowly unfolded from her memory, the sparkling water, the sunlight filtering down through the leaves and tainting the shadows green.

She smiled as she remembered. The sun had been warm on her skin and she had been upset but he had taken that away. He had shown her a secret; the he could fly. And she had kept that secret, still kept it to this day.

She focused on how she felt when he told her that he would tell show her his secret. Filled her entire body with how she had felt when she was finally entrusted with something so important.

Letting out a slow breath she opened her eyes, a small smile playing along her lips. She felt calm and at peace.

It was not a moment too soon as Sho strode through the doors a second later.

Haruki directed him to the position he would be in and what she wanted the shot to consist of. Nodding he glanced sideways at Kyoko but she was too happy to be annoyed by his presence.

Seeing that her expression didn't change from the dreamy look she was wearing, he frowned slightly and went to his starting position. The set fell silent before Haruki called action.

---/---

They were taking a break after the first few hours of shooting. Kyoko was standing off to the side and drinking from a small bottle of water.

Ignoring Sho and pretending he was Corn had become more difficult the further into the scene they got. Sho was always there, pushing into her senses, demanding attention and it really took a lot of her concentration to stay in her zone.

By the end of the scene she was practically forcing the emotion out and it had shown in her work, though it would take someone who knew Kyoko very well to see so.

Unfortunately for her, Sho did know her well. He had been confused at first when she didn't react to him like he thought she would.

Confusion quickly turned to annoyance though when she refused to acknowledge him. He was acting and acting beautifully but at the same time he was needling her to pay attention to him. It was the least he deserved, he thought, especially after what she had done to him yesterday.

He deserved an apology at the very least.

Now, he was just waiting until he had his chance to spring something on her and make her see him.

Kyoko shivered and glanced around trying to pinpoint the evil thought waves that were being aimed at her.

She was distracted by Haruki who made her way over to talk to her.

"Kyoko-chan? Can I talk to you a moment?"

"Of course, Asami-san. Is there something the matter?"

"Well, no." Haruki looked a little embarrassed. "I'm glad that you seemed to have gotten over whatever mindset you were in yesterday."

Kyoko blushed. "Y-yes," she stuttered in embarrassment. "I actually wanted to apologise to you about that."

Haruki smiled. "I don't think it's me that you should be apologising to."

"What do you mean?"

"…nothing. Actually. There was a reason that I came over. You do seem to be projecting a better image but…it's not exactly the image I had in mind."

"Oh?"

"No. It feels…a little too innocent for my liking. Your character _is_ innocent, don't get me wrong, but she also knows what is happening and who she is in love with. Do you think you can do that?"

Kyoko frowned. Could she change now and still be able to ignore Sho? The only reason that she had managed to last thing far was because she was thinking about Corn instead of him.

"I-I'll try, Asami-san. It's just…I got some advice off a really good person yesterday and it might take me a while to work out how to deal with the problem with my performance."

"Oh? Advice? What was it?"

Kyoko thought about it. Could she tell the director about Ren and how he used this advice? She frowned. Haruki was a director and Ren had told her something that felt private. She didn't want to start any rumours that might be detrimental to his career.

Rumours that said he couldn't act certain things.

Maybe if she said what the suggestion was but left Ren out of it? That might work.

She tuned back to reality.

"They said that if I was having problems showing that I was in love with someone then I should just pretend that they are the person that I'm really in love with."

"That's good advice. Is that how you've been managing to act this morning?"

"Yeah. I've been thinking back to when I was a child."

"Ah. That explains it. That's why the performance is coming off a little too innocent."

"Really? You think that's it?"

"Yes. Is there anything else that your friend said?"

Kyoko thought about Ren and the conversation that they had had. About how he had treated her then. Most of all she thought about how he had laughed so openly, without holding anything back from her.

"That's perfect."

Kyoko blinked. "Huh?"

"That expression you just made. That's exactly what I was looking for. In the next scene just think about whatever you were thinking about just before and it'll be _perfect_."

She smiled at Kyoko before walking off to go and speak with some of her crew.

Kyoko stared after her. She wanted Kyoko to think of _Ren_ while she was acting as a couple?

Why on earth would she want that?

Had her expression really been that good?

Kyoko thought about this, her mind racing. What did it mean? Did it mean that she was…?

No.

No, that couldn't be right. It was respect. She had respect for Ren and that was it. The director was confused on the expression.

But if she wanted Kyoko to look like that during the next scene then who was she to argue? At least respect for Ren was easier to tap into then trying to come up with someone else that she could pretend and block out Sho.

* * *

**Like I said. Short chapter.**

**The shortest one so far, actually.**

**Not much happened but there was emotional development and tomorrows chapter won't make sense without it. (You'll see what I mean.)**

**Oh, Sho… **

**:D**

**A lot happens tomorrow and I'm looking forward to writing it. I hope you're enjoying it so far!**

**DS**


	11. Filming IV

**Okay you guys. I'm sorry about yesterday being a short chapter and feeling like half a day - yes technically it was just half a day but when I tried to write what happened next, nothing would come to mind and I only had a short amount of time left before I had to leave.**

**I thought that it would be a better idea to cut off at the interesting point than to babble on for another five hundred words or so and draw it out.**

**Maybe if I had more than a couple of hours to write each chapter? I don't know, it's one of the things I'll have to work out.**

**I have a feeling some people are not going to be pleased…(WriterofShadow - this means you)**

**_Editors note (WriterofShadow): Yes, I hate Sho with a passion but I love your writing more. I just have the worst luck with guys._**

* * *

Advent '08

December 11th - 14 days to go

* * *

Sho was annoyed.

The entirety of yesterday afternoon he had tried to get Kyoko's attention but she had never looked at him. Oh, she was _looking_ at him but she wasn't looking at _him_.

It was irritating to say the least.

He had tried to show her that he wasn't that same boy. That he was a man now and someone who was trying to uncover himself and who he really was.

He had thought that she had understood as well. Monday had gone so well. He had been sure that she had seen him and who he had become…and then Tuesday had arrived and they had danced and still he thought things were going well.

Yes, she had been a little distant. He had been a little confused then. Didn't she understand? But during the shot she was entirely focused on him and he had been happy. He had thought everything was going well.

All he remembered was looking into her eyes. They had been all he could see, drowning in her gaze.

He didn't even remember going in to kiss her; he could just hear his thoughts as he looked at her. Wanting to get closer, wanting to touch her, wanting to taste her…

And then she had punched him in the stomach.

They had carted him off to the tent, winded and in pain and they had stayed with him as he struggled to breathe. He hadn't cared about that though, he had searched for her through the opening but he hadn't seen her.

She had disappeared.

When he could finally stand again he had sought for her but she was well and truly gone. He sought out Asami-san instead, wanting to know where Kyoko was and prepared to beg for her if Haruki had fired her.

Fortunately, Kyoko hadn't been fired. Haruki explained that she had just sent her to L.M.E. early to think on what she had done.

He had breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Asami-san. Grateful that he would be working with Kyoko again before the end of the shoot. He had been looking forward to Wednesday and seeing her again but even then she had been distant and in the afternoon he had never before felt that she was so far out of his grasp.

And now?

Sho looked across to where Kyoko was chatting with the director, a scowl plastered across his face. She was ignoring him completely and all he wanted was for her to look at him.

He should march over there and demand an apology for the other day. He didn't care about the apology but it would make Kyoko look at him and talk to him.

He craved her attention.

He should. He would.

Squaring his shoulders he walked over.

---/---

Kyoko was caught completely unaware when Sho strode up beside her and grabbed her elbow.

"Kyoko-chan, can I talk to you a moment? Excuse us Asami-san."

Without waiting for her reply he bowed to Haruki and pulled Kyoko away from the classroom they had been standing in and through the hallway.

Kyoko gritted her teeth as Sho pulled her into an empty room and closed the door behind them. Jerking her hand away she stared at him accusingly.

"Just what do you think you are doing? Filming is about to start."

He ran a hand through his hair and glanced away from her accusing look.

"No it's not. They can't start without the main characters."

"What do you want Fuwa-san."

Sho grimaced and tugged on his hair before he turned to face her.

"I just wanted to talk."

"Talk?" She asked disbelieving.

"Okay, fine. I wanted you to apologise for Tuesday."

"Apologise?"

"Well, yes."

She narrowed her eyes. "I'm not apologising. Not until you apologise for everything that you've done to me."

He stared at her, speechless, before smiling ruefully. He guessed he kind of deserved that.

Sighing softly he moved until he was standing in front of her. She was staring at him with so much _hate_ in her eyes and all he could feel was sadness.

He had ignored her, not seen her when she craved his attention. And now the tables were turned.

He did not appreciate the irony.

She was looking at him. Finally. Without thinking, he raised his hand and gently brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek. She started and the hate was replaced by confusion and…was that _fear_?

Her cheek was warm, his skin burning at the contact.

He wanted more, he couldn't help himself. He leant forward slowly, his entire being focused on her lips, heart roaring in his ears and holding his breath.

He was so _close_. So close to owning it all…

He could feel her own breath ghosting across his lips. Just that little bit further…

Kyoko jerked away. "What are you doing?"

He tensed, caught in his moment of weakness. Straightening slowly, he averted his eyes and covered his mouth with his hand.

What was he going to do now? He couldn't let her see how close he had been…to kissing her? To breaking? He wasn't sure anymore. Everything was all one jumbled mess and he was drowning in it.

Reaching out, he clutched at anything that could help him get through this.

Dropping his hand he smirked at her.

"Wasn't it obvious? I was practicing. I have to work myself up to kissing someone like you and meaning it. Don't tell me, you were fooled? This acting thing is even easier than I thought."

He kept the sneer in place even as he was screaming at himself mentally. He watched as her eyes flashed with hurt.

Then she started to tremble with fury. She opened her mouth as if to scream at him but nothing came out. He kept the sneer on his face, challenging her, too proud to show how terrified he was of her at this exact moment in time.

They stayed locked in that tense stand-off until Kyoko stormed past him and out of the room. She slammed the door behind her and Sho could hear the wooden frame cracking and splintering.

It was a few moments before he could actually breathe again, his breath coming in harsh shallow pants. He clutched at his heart and sank into the nearest chair. Groaning he dropped his head to the desk.

He had been so _close_. She had been _looking_ at him.

"Damn it."

---/---

Kyoko was still fuming when she arrived back at the set. Those who were in her way quickly moved out of it and stayed away, giving her a wide berth. Kyoko didn't notice; she was too focused on what had just happened with Sho.

She gritted her teeth, her anger increasing.

How dare he? How dare he talk to her that way? And what he had _said_? He would pay. She would show him just who she was now and how much she didn't need him anymore.

By the end of the day was out he would know, without any shadow of a doubt, how much she hated him at this precise moment in time.

Reigning in her emotions, she condensed them into a small ball, not letting them show on her face or in her body. She was going to out-act him and that would be the least she was going to do.

She wanted him to hurt.

---/---

Haruki had been nervous when Kyoko had stormed back into the set.

She had watched as every member of her team got out of the girl's way and _stayed_ out of her way.

Cursing Sho she had wondered at just what he had done to create that kind of reaction in Kyoko in so short a time. The boy was a master at pissing her off.

He had come slinking in ten minutes later, looking a little morose but otherwise unharmed. She had breathed a small sigh of relief at that; she did not want to contemplate the costs of postponing the shoot if Sho had had to have an extended stay in the hospital.

Kyoko had ignored him and Sho was staying out of her way, trying not to draw any attention to himself, which was a little odd.

Despite all this, when she called action they had acted perfectly together. The kiss between the two was sweet and held real feeling behind it. She was both amazed and a little curious at just how Kyoko had managed it.

After she had called cut she went over and caught Kyoko's attention.

"Kyoko-chan! That was perfect."

"Thank you, Asami-san."

"I was just wondering, before when you came back from your talk with Sho-kun, you seemed a little…angry…" A dark expression came over Kyoko and Haruki hurried on. "But you pulled yourself out. How?"

"Well. I just took the advice of a very good friend." Here Kyoko glanced off to her side briefly before she looked back and smiled at Haruki. "I wasn't feeling a lot of romantic emotions so, instead, I just thought of someone that I _did_ like whilst acting."

"Ah. Well, either way it was perfect. Thank you for working with me Kyoko-chan."

"Thank you for choosing me Asami-san."

Kyoko bowed to her and then left the set so that she could get to L.M.E.

When she had left Haruki looked over to where Kyoko had glanced. Sho was standing rigidly straight, his back turned towards her. From how close he was it was obvious that he had overheard everything that Kyoko had said.

She sighed silently. Poor Sho, to learn that someone had done something like that to him? She hoped that he was going to be okay for the scenes that they were shooting in the afternoon.

* * *

***face palm***

**This is why I haven't written in Sho's PoV before. It makes everything complicated and all messed up.**

**Woo! Only a fortnight left to go! For those of you still having classes I feel your pain.**

**Ok. There's a few shorter chapters coming up, I think. But…looking at the plan…it should start to get better on the fifteenth.**

**Again, I'm sorry about last chapter.**

**DS**


	12. A Date?

**Short chapter and late update.**

**This is for all you RenKyoko fans out there. Now that the filming arc is over we can move on to the next one! : )**

**I can say that it probably isn't the one you think…if you think there is one at all…**

* * *

Advent '08

December 12th - 13 days to go

* * *

Ren had been quiet all day.

In fact, Ren had been quiet the last couple of days. It wasn't overly noticeable to others but to Yashiro, who had known him for so long and so well, his quietness stood out.

Yashiro narrowed his eyes as he stared at his charge from across the table. They were taking a small lunch break in the middle of their modelling shoot and Yashiro was making sure that Ren was actually eating something for once.

Ren glanced up and, seeing Yashiro staring at him, raised his eyebrow in silent question.

Yashiro smiled sweetly in return.

"Ren-san. Is everything ok?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well." Yashiro paused and pretended to think about it. "You've been awfully reserved lately."

"I'm normally reserved."

Conversation over, Ren went back to his meal and whilst Yashiro was happy he was eating, he was also annoyed that Ren had managed to get out of the conversation.

Things were not going well.

Sighing, Yashiro pulled out his planner and flipped through the pages until he reached December and the schedule that he had set down for himself and the development of his plan.

Time was running out. There was only twelve days left until the actual awards and still Ren seemed unlikely to go, never mind take Kyoko with him.

He had thought that things had been going so well last week. He had manage to manoeuvre Kyoko into talking with Ren about going to the ceremony. He had also managed to plant the idea that Kyoko wanted Ren to take her into Ren's head.

Or, at least that's what he _thought_ he had managed to do.

Now he wasn't so sure.

Ren wasn't doing anything towards asking Kyoko out and he was running out of time. He also hadn't heard anything from Kanae in a few days and that was starting to worry him, especially after she had practically blackmailed him to take her to the ceremony.

If his plan failed then he was not going to be looking forward to telling her that they would be unable to go.

He shuddered and looked back over his plan.

They were only a little way behind schedule. If he could somehow manage to change Ren's mind about the whole thing in the next few days then it could be salvageable. Anything after that and he wasn't sure if he could get all the preparations done in time.

It was going to be tight.

The only good thing about the situation was that the President had not found out about it.

Yashiro wasn't sure, but he didn't think that manipulating his charge was something that was endorsed in his contract. Especially when it was Ren he was manipulating. The same Ren who was the President's favourite and the golden boy of not just L.M.E. but the whole Japanese entertainment industry.

No. He was glad the President didn't know.

The difficult part would be to make sure everything stayed under wraps. Which had become more difficult when Kanae had worked everything out and was now in on the whole thing.

He was pretty sure Kanae wouldn't say anything, she wanted to go to the ceremony too much to risk it.

But there was always a chance that she would let something slip to Kyoko, who would then tell Ren.

It would then either get back to the President where he would be fired or Ren would take it into his own hands.

Not good.

He sighed and put away his planner. He was at a loss at what to do. His foolproof plan had been outwitted and now all he found he could do was wait.

---/---

Ren had been thinking.

Mostly about Kyoko but he had also been thinking about himself and what Yashiro had said.

It had been a tiring few days but he had finally made up his mind on the whole thing.

He gripped the wheel harder and concentrated on the road. It wouldn't do to get in an accident _now_. Not after he had just spent days agonising what he was going to do.

They would be arriving at L.M.E. in less than an hour.

He had less than an hour to prepare himself.

---/---

Kyoko had been busy all day.

Kanae was still out re-recording some of the script and she had been left to do the jobs needed _again_. She wasn't upset about it though, it gave her something to work her anger out on.

She was _still_ angry at Sho and what had happened yesterday.

She shoved her mop into the bucket and then slapped it wetly across the floor.

Irritating man. She wished he was the floor so that she could scrub him away.

She was so caught up in her fantasies that she jumped when someone cleared their throat behind her. She turned and tried to calm her racing heart.

Though this wasn't easy when she saw that it was Ren.

"Do you know that you were mumbling to yourself?"

She laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head.

"I…I was?"

He smiled at her and her heart sped up further. What was happening to her?

"Yes, you were."

He fell silent and the smile disappeared from his face. He looked like he was thinking.

After this had gone on for a minute, Kyoko ventured to break the awkwardness.

"Is there something you wanted me for, Ren-san?"

"The Winter Award Ceremony is on the 24th."

Kyoko was thrown a little. Did he mean that as a question or was he just stating it?

"…yes?"

He nodded as if she had said the right answer.

"Would you like to go with me?"

If she had been thrown before she definitely was now. Kyoko stood there completely speechless. Had Ren just done what she thought he had just done?

No…that couldn't be right…

He hadn't just invited her to the awards…

Had he?

She tried to clarify. "W-what?"

"I want you to go with me."

Okay. There was no way that she could confuse that with anything else. Ren's face was completely blank, like he was actually serious about all of this and waiting for her reply.

Kyoko still couldn't believe this.

"You want me to go with you."

"Yes."

"To the Winter Awards."

"Yes."

"Oh."

She didn't know what to say. There must be some mistake.

He must have lost a bet or something and now he had to invite her. He couldn't just have wanted to do it any other way.

"Well I…I don't…"

"Please?"

And just like that she completely drew a blank.

"Okay."

Ren smiled at her again and Kyoko blinked back in her bemused state.

"Wonderful. I'll get Yashiro to arrange everything."

He hesitated for a few second more before nodding and walking back the way he had come.

Kyoko watched him go. It wasn't until he had disappeared around the corner that all the blood drained from her face and she finally realised what she had done. She sat down heavily on the floor as her knees gave out beneath her.

She had _agreed_ to go to the _awards_ with _Ren_.

She had a bad feeling about this.

---/---

Harumi was already settled into her chair when Lory opened the door to his office. He paused when he saw her before rolling his eyes.

He should have known that she would somehow manage to get in.

Pasting a smile on his lips he sat down in his own chair and greeted her warmly.

"Harumi-chan! How are you doing? It's been almost a week since our last meeting? I didn't think we had another one scheduled."

He made a point of flipping through the pages of his planner as if to check. Harumi smirked at him.

"Cut the theatrics Lory-kun, you were never any good at them."

Lory sighed.

"And you were never good at tact."

"I like _points_, Lory-kun. And I like to get to them fast."

"How do you manage to turn everything you say into an innuendo?"

She grinned and leant back in her chair.

"It's a talent."

"What is that you want Harumi-chan?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you have any new information?"

"Not so far. Yashiro hasn't come to me to say whether Ren is going or not."

"Interesting. My own Intelligence confirm this."

Lory raised his eyebrows.

"You have _Intelligence_?"

"Well of course! I couldn't have you holding all the cards now, could I?"

"Just how did you manage to get this '_Intelligence_'?"

She smirked at him.

"It's amazing how far you can get with a smile and a bit of money."

Lory was alarmed at the news. She had spies in his company, gathering intelligence? Just how much did she know?

And how deeply was she integrated?

"Well." She rose and nodded to him. "Thank you for confirming what I thought you only knew. I'll be back later on."

Lory watched her leave his room. What she thought that he knew? Was he missing something?

He had to do something. If she new something he didn't then he needed to find out fast. There was money on the line and he was not about to roll over for her and let her play him. With knowledge came power and he was not prepared for Harumi to manipulate things into her favour.

He needed to schedule a meeting with Yashiro tomorrow to find out exactly how far along he had gotten with his plan…without letting the man know that he knew.

Urgh…it was all so complicated.

* * *

**There you go, a bit more development and stuff.**

**See you tomorrow.**

**DS**


	13. Cafe

**If it's jumpy I apologise. I keep having to stop.**

**And I'm a chick…**

**:P**

* * *

Advent '08

December 13th - 12 days to go

* * *

Yoshiro was curious.

Kanae had called him up earlier this morning and asked if she could meet with him. He assumed that it had something to do with Kyoko and the plan and wondered what she was going to say.

He was also curious as to how she had got his number but he tended to try not to question the infallibility that was women and their ability to get what they wanted.

He flicked his hair out of his eyes and took another sip of his tea.

He was currently sitting in a booth in a small café in the downtown shopping district. Kanae had chosen the place and he assumed that it was one that she frequented often. Or she could have chosen it because it was out of the way and she didn't want anyone she knew seeing them together.

For some reason that thought hurt a little.

Even though he understood why she would do so, for the sake of the plan.

He frowned and took another sip of his drink. He was being ridiculous. Sighing in annoyance with himself he tried to take his mind off of it by looking around the room. There were a couple of girls sitting together who were giggling and whispering between themselves. Every so often one would glance at him then look away quickly.

He shifted his gaze, feeling awkward. The waitresses standing behind the counter were doing the exact same thing. Yashiro frowned.

There was a group of guys, around the age of seventeen of eighteen sitting near the girls. When he looked over they shot him dirty looks.

Yashiro's eyes widened. Just what was going on?

He turned his attention back to his tea. Caffeination was so much safer apparently. He checked his watch. Kanae was late to their meeting.

Tapping his fingers against the table he rested his head in hand and wondered about what exactly had happened to make Kanae call him up, out of the blue, and request a meeting.

It had sounded urgent on the phone but now, with her being late, he wasn't so sure. Had he completely misjudged the signs?

The sound of the bell over the shop door tinkling dragged his attention up. Kanae stood, one hand on her hip and the other brushing her hair back over her shoulder.

Yashiro was caught. With disjointed fascination, he wondered if she wasn't cold only wearing a jacket and skirt.

He watched as she scanned the room, looking for someone. Looking for _him_, he corrected himself.

His breath hitched when she finally caught sight of him and smiled, making her way over and sitting on the opposite chair.

"Hey," she said, a little breathlessly "sorry I'm late."

"Aren't you cold?"

Kanae gave him a weird look and inside Yashiro groaned. Why did he just say that? Of everything he could have said he asked the one thing that would remind her of her mother!

She shrugged.

"I'm wearing a scarf. Hey, where's the service around here?"

Yashiro kept quiet as she signalled for the waitress and placed her order. It wasn't until she was settled with her drink in front of her that he spoke.

"So, what was it that you wanted to speak to me about?"

Immediately, the smile dropped from her face.

"I wanted to talk about the plan. I think there might be a problem."

"What do you know?"

"Kyoko-chan was complaining about Fuwa-san a couple of days ago. I haven't been in over the last few days but I'm sure that she's still going to be upset with him."

Yashiro was confused.

"If she's upset with Fuwa-san then how is that a problem with the plan?"

Kanae sighed and rolled her eyes.

"It's a problem," she said slowly, as if she was talking to someone slow, "because if she's annoyed with him then she's going to be thinking about him. So, no matter what happens, the person on her mind the most is going to be him."

"Oh. That is going to be a problem."

Kanae nodded and took a sip of her drink.

Yashiro sighed and massaged his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on.

"So how do we fix this?"

"Honestly? I don't know. It would be best if she could just forget about him completely. But seeing as that is not going to happen anytime soon…I think the best that we can hope for is that Tsuruga-san does something that makes her direct all her focus onto him."

"Damn."

"Yeah. Do you know if anything has progressed?"

"No. Ren hasn't asked her to the best of my knowledge. He hasn't asked me to arr-"

He was cut off as his phone began to ring in his pocket. He ignored Kanae's look as he pulled on his glove and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Yashiro-san. I need you to arrange transport to the awards for me and to inform the President. I am going after all."

"What? Wai-"

Yashiro stared at his phone as Ren cut his questions off by hanging up.

"What's wrong, Yashiro-san?"

"That was Ren-san. He's just said that he was going to the awards."

"Really? Did he say anything else? Is he taking Kyoko-chan?"

"I don't know. He just said he needed me to arrange transport and to inform the President."

"Hmmm…I should ask Kyoko-chan of she knows anything."

"Yes. See if you can get anything from her. I'll see if I can get some more information from Ren-san."

Kanae nodded and stood.

"Alright. If I find anything I'll let you know."

She was about to walk away when Yashiro caught her hand.

"Wait. Can I ask…how did you get my number?"

Kanae paused for a moment before grinning.

"Trade secret."

Yashiro let go and watched her leave. Trade secret? What did she mean by that?

---/---

Kyoko was nervous.

Ever since yesterday she had been worrying about what had happened and what she was going to do.

She was unsure about what to feel about the whole thing.

She was pleased that the plan seemed to have worked and now Ren was going to the awards like Yashiro wanted but she was a little ashamed that he had asked her.

_That_ wasn't part of the plan and she wasn't sure that Yashiro would be best pleased that she was going to accompany his charge.

Had he had someone else in mind for Ren to ask?

It just seemed a little too forward to her.

She had said yes because she had been taken by surprise but now she was wishing that she had just said no instead. What was she going to wear? How did this all work? What did this mean for her?

What were people going to think?

She was worried. Sitting in a café, surrounded by her day's Christmas shopping, she sighed. She had thought that shopping would have taken her mind off of it all and it had. But now that she was done she had nothing to distract her from it.

Did Ren think that she was forward? Did he think that she had been angling towards being invited by him?

That thought was the one that worried her the most.

She didn't want him to think that she was like that and she didn't know what to do to change that perception of her.

She bit her thumb nail in worry.

This was a nightmare and she had no idea what to do.

* * *

**Yashiro and Kanae chapter really.**

**And again…really _really _sorry about the late update.**


	14. To Cancel or Not to Cancel I

**The good news is that the short chapters are nearing to a close.**

**The bad thing is that it's not today. **

**Today is a short chapter. **

**Even shorter because I got ill again and it's late and I'm tired and…okay…I'm going to stop with the excuses…**

**: )**

**Oh, and if there are a few people who are wondering about why the people were staring at Yashiro in yesterday's chapter, it will be explained in a later chapter.**

* * *

Advent '08

December 14 - 11 days to go

* * *

That afternoon Lory had scheduled a meeting with Yashiro.

He sat behind his desk and waited for the manager to arrive. He was nervous but tried not to show it, the only thing that showed his outward agitation was his playing with his silver letter opener.

He had to plan this right.

He had to, somehow, get the information he wanted without letting Yashiro know that he knew about his plan. He also had to keep the fact that he had ulterior motives a secret.

He groaned to himself and tapped the blade against the desk.

He had to plan this right…and he had no idea how to go about it at all.

A knock came on his door.

…and he was out of time now.

Ah well, nothing like winging it to get the blood pumping.

"Come in."

Yashiro poked his head through the door. He looked nervous.

Lory wondered if there was something that he should be worried about too but brushed the thought away. It wouldn't do to assume anything at this stage in the game.

"Please, have a seat."

He watched with narrow eyes as Yashiro carefully made his way across the room and sat down delicately on the edge of the proffered chair.

"Do you know the reason why I arranged this meeting with you Yashiro-san?"

"No President Takarada."

"Well…mostly, it's about Ren. How is he doing?"

Yashiro smiled, obviously relieved about the question. Lory stored the information away.

"He's doing well. I think that the short…_break_…did him the world of good."

"That's wonderful. No matter how much the boy wants to work, everyone needs a break now and then."

"I completely agree with you, Sir."

They lapsed into an uneasy silence.

Lory cursed to himself. After the conversation had been started so well, now they were stuck at an impasse.

He cleared his throat and started to, once again, toy with his letter opener.

"So…speaking of breaks…."

Yashiro was eyeing the blade dancing in his hands.

"Yes…?" He asked, definitely sounding nervous.

"I was wondering if Ren had made up his mind on the Winter Awards? I need to know so that I can reply to the R.S.V.P."

Yashiro smiled brightly.

"Actually. Yesterday Ren said that he would indeed be going to the Winter Awards."

"Oh?" Lory asked carefully "That's wonderful…"

Yashiro narrowed his eyes.

"Yes…"

"Did he say…whether he would be taking anyone?"

"No…no he did not…"

"Will you find out for me? So that I can…reply…"

"Of course, President Takarada."

They fell into silence, each eyeing the other warily.

"Will you be going as well, Yashiro-san?"

"I will."

"And will _you_ be taking anyone."

"Actually, I will…"

"Oh. Well that's wonderful…"

"Yes…"

Silence once more.

"Well. It was nice meeting with you Yashiro-san."

"You too President."

They both stood up at the same time and Yashiro edged backwards to the door. Lory never took his eyes off him.

"Wait!"

Yashiro froze, one hand on the door handle.

"Don't forget to find out Ren is taking anyone."

Yashiro nodded and then quickly escaped. Lory sat down with a sigh and put the letter opener down.

He thought he handled that pretty well and he was sure that Yashiro didn't guess he had any other motives.

---/---

Kyoko was tired.

She had spent the entire night fretting over what Ren might be thinking about her and how she could fix it.

She had decided, after hours of tossing and turning, that the only way that she could make everything right again was if she showed Ren that she hadn't actually been angling towards being taken by him to the awards.

That's why she had decided to cancel.

This morning she had thought that it would be more polite to see if she could find him on Tuesday and tell him personally. That way she could explain why exactly she was doing it.

However, as the day had worn on she had become more and more worried about leaving it any longer.

That was why she had decided to phone him right now to cancel and then try to avoid seeing him for the rest of the week.

Her mind made up she searched her room for her school bag. The last time that she had saw her phone it had been in her bag.

It took her a few minutes but she finally found it and it was with relief that she pressed the on button, glad that this would all be over soon.

It didn't switch on.

She frowned and pressed the button again becoming increasingly frantic when it wouldn't switch on at all.

The battery had died.

Biting her bottom lip she searched through her bag for the charger desperate, now that she had made her decision, she didn't want to put it off any further.

After an hour of searching she had to admit defeat.

She must have left her charger in her locker at L.M.E. meaning that she was going to have to wait until Tuesday to cancel because she was in school all tomorrow.

She sighed and ran her hands through her hair.

This was not good. Now she was going to spend all day tomorrow worry about it as well.

* * *

**Sorry about the shortness and the general…ness..**

**Siiiiigh…**

**DS**


	15. To Cancel or Not to Cancel II

**Good News: Story is picking up!**

**Bad News: There is going to be angst…**

**Good News: I just handed in the last piece of work that was due in this year!**

**Bad News: I still have to go in…**

**Good News: There should be longer chapters again!**

**Bad News: …um…**

**Good News: There's only ten days left until it's Christmas Day! :D**

**Bad News: …**

**You know those moments that you have…when you say something…and just dig yourself into a hole and then start shovelling the dirt on top of you? **

**Yeah…**

* * *

Advent '08

December 15th - All together now! 10!

* * *

One of the downsides about thinking solely of Ren the entire weekend was that she hadn't thought about what school would be like when she arrived there that morning.

It had been a frosty reception at best.

The boys that she passed stared at her at first and then went out of their way to avoid her. The girls shot her dirty looks and whispered between their groups.

Kyoko looked around nervously at first, wondering what was going on. Finally it clicked and she sighed sadly to herself. It was just like primary and middle school.

Sho always managed to turn the entire student population against her with out even realising it.

She made her way to her seat and sat down forlornly.

The only good thing about this was that Kanae wouldn't be affected by this. Kanae wouldn't throw their friendship away over anything like this.

All she had to do was survive this weeks worth of lessons and then she could hang out with someone who she was actual friends with.

She repressed another sigh when she felt a ball of paper being thrown off her.

Today was going to be a _long_ day.

---/---

By the time lunch rolled around Kyoko was feeling a little fed up with how she was being treated. She _had_ thought that things would be different when she was older but it was clear to her now that people sometimes never grew out of their immaturity.

She had endured paper balls, paper planes, bits of rubber being flicked at her and other things besides that.

She was grateful that she didn't have P.E. or who knows what might have happened.

If it had been clear she would have gone outside to eat her lunch but the snow had started up again and no matter how much clod she was able to brave she wasn't going to purposefully go out and freeze herself.

This was why she found herself sitting alone at her desk eating her meal.

The biggest group of girls had gather right behind her and Kyoko didn't know if it was because they wanted to be in a better position to torment her or if it was just pure coincidence.

The leader of the group was Nanokura so Kyoko wasn't sure that it _was_ coincidence.

She tried to ignore the laughing group of girls but the words 'winter' and 'awards' caught her attention and against her will she found herself straining to hear what they were saying.

"I can't wait!"

"I know! I'm going to watch it on the T.V."

"_I'm_ going to _tape_ it so that I can watch it again!"

"I wonder who's going to be there?"

"Well, obviously _Sho-kun_ is going to be there. He's going to be the most handsomest and most popular man there."

Kyoko flinched. _Sho_ was going to be there?

It was a good thing that she wasn't going any more then.

She kept listening as Nanokura kept talking.

"They can bring dates you know? And I think that _Sho-kun_ will ask _me_ because I'm the prettiest girl in the agency."

"Really? He's going to ask you?"

"Well of course! Who else would he ask? _Mogami_?"

They burst into cruel laughter and Kyoko felt her face heating up in shame and anger. Eventually the laughter died down and Kyoko felt herself being able to breathe again.

"You're so _lucky_ Nanokura-chan!"

"I know I am."

"I wish _I_ was going!"

"You'll just have to watch it on T.V. Just like Mogami will."

"Heh heh heh."

"That'll be the closest _she'll_ ever get to _anything_ like that."

"That's if she even _owns_ a television."

They laughed again and Kyoko felt the overwhelming urge to do something. Hit them, shout, anything but leave and admit defeat.

She was so on edge that she was actually trembling.

"Ha ha! Yeah. She doesn't even wear _make-up_ of course she wouldn't be able to go!"

Her body turned to face the group of it's own accord.

"As a matter of fact I _am _going. I was invited personally and haven't you heard? It's rude to talk about someone like they aren't there."

She stood up and picked up her bag before marching out of the classroom and down the corridor.

It wasn't until she was standing facing the mirror in the bathroom that what she had done finally hit her.

A strangled noise forced its way past her lips and she fell to her knees, one hand clutching the sink and the other at her heart.

She had stuck up for herself.

She had turned and spoken back to those girls.

She had called them _rude_…

The most popular girls in her year and she had called them rude!

Urgh. This was so bad. Her life was going to be _hell_!

She wallowed in self pity for a few minutes before something forced it's way past her despair.

Wait…

What exactly had she said?!

Did she just tell them that she _was going_ to the Winter Awards?!

Oh no…

But she had made up her mind! She wasn't going! Why on earth did she tell them that she was?!

They were going to make her life even worse than the already promised hell when she did actually cancel.

She dropped her head into her hands and groaned.

Could she actually cancel now? Was she strong enough to survive their taunting for the rest of the year?

Yes?

No?

She was so confused.

---/---

The girls sat in stunned silence, completely shocked at by what had just happened.

Did that just happen?

Nanokura gritted her teeth at what Kyoko had just done. She snarled at the boys who were looking and grinning in her direction.

There was no way that Kyoko was going to the awards and there was no way that she was going to be upstaged by that upstart.

First she steals her part, then she steals her Sho's attention and now she steals her limelight?

Not on her watch.

Kyoko would know what it would feel like to take what was hers. She would make sure of that.

And the first thing that she would do would to be expose Kyoko for the horrible liar that she was and then shame her in front of the whole school.

_Then_ everyone would realise who was the most popular girl and the biggest rising star this industry has ever seen.

* * *

**Lol, well…that's _one_ way to make up your mind. **

**This chapter is mostly to appease my editor WriterofShadow who is holding my tablet pen ransom.**

**-____-**

**DS**


	16. To Cancel or Not to Cancel III

**Well…we're about halfway through the '**_**confusion arc**_**' as it were. To be honest, I want this arc to be over soon so that I can get onto the juicy stuff but…it needs to be done so…**

**Hmm…I wonder…**

**Do people think that this is going to be a happy ending? Overall?**

* * *

Advent '08

December 16th - Everyone shout! 9!

* * *

That morning Kyoko had to endure another round of jealousy from the girls in the student population.

Standing up for herself yesterday had just made things worse and now there were rumours flying all over the school about herself, Sho and Nanokura. She just wished that she could go back in time and prevent herself from saying those things.

It was going to hurt when she had to admit that she wasn't going to the awards.

Sitting in her seat, she could feel the stares on her back and hear the whispers about her. Nanokura had a snarl on her face and her arms crossed across her chest. She had been staring at Kyoko's back for hours and Kyoko was feeling the tension.

Luckily she only had one more lesson left before the bell for lunch rang and she could get out of this hell hole and get back to her friends at L.M.E.

It was all going to be ok. She would tell Ren that she wouldn't go and he wouldn't think of her as a suck-up anymore. Not going to the awards would calm down Nanokura and her need to be the most privileged girl in the school.

The awards should also distract those girls who seemed to hate her because she starred opposite Sho, so that by the time the school started up again after the holidays everything would be back to normal again.

She flinched as another paper ball bounced off her arm.

It would all be alright.

Just one more hour.

---/---

As soon as the bell rang Kyoko ran out of the room. Forget propriety, she just wanted to get out of there as fast as she could. It didn't even matter that it looked like she was running away, _she was running away_.

The last hour had been hell. The girls, as if able to smell her escape was imminent, had redoubled their efforts to take their frustrations out on her.

She sighed when she reached the bike shed and found that they hadn't sabotaged her bike. Well, that was one good thing at least.

She hopped on and started to cycle to work, just glad to get away.

She arrived just a little bit late due to ice on the roads, there had been a pretty spectacular car crash and she was glad that she wasn't part of it even as she was sorry for those who were.

As soon as she got through the doors she was rushed off her feet. She barely had time to change before she was called this way and that and rushed off her feet. It wasn't until her break that she finally found time enough to breathe.

Collapsing down onto the steps she smiled weakly at Kanae who looked as exhausted as she felt.

"Urgh. Why is it so busy?"

Kyoko shrugged in response.

"Seriously, everyone seems to be doing something and we have to do it for them."

Kanae paused and looked at Kyoko but Kyoko missed it because she had her eyes closed.

"I don't want to talk about work anymore. So Kyoko? Anything interesting happen to you lately?"

Kanae watching with a smirk as Kyoko tensed slightly and peeked through her closed eye at her.

"Interesting? What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Oh, you know…the usual? Going anywhere interesting?"

Kyoko just stared at her, seemingly making up her mind about something. It took a few moments but eventually she leant forwards.

"Ok. Can you keep a secret?"

Kanae leaned closer.

"Of course! What is it?"

Kyoko bit her bottom lip and glanced around them, checking that they really were alone.

"Well…Ren-san asked me to go to the Winter Awards with him."

Kanae sat there, shocked.

"What? _When_? What did you say?"

"Well…I said yes."

"Oh! That's great!"

"But I'm going to see if I can find him this afternoon to cancel."

"…What."

Kyoko blushed.

"Well. I don't want him to think that I wanted him to take me. Just take me. I don't…I don't want him to think that I was angling for an invitation. I don't want him to see me like that."

Kanae blinked.

"So you're going to tell him that you don't want to go with him. Even after he _specifically_ asked you?"

"…Yes?"

"Don't you think that _that's _a bit rude? I mean…he specifically asked you. Went out of his way to find you and speak to you…you know? And you're going to throw that back in his face?"

Kyoko looked horrified and Kanae breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"I've never thought about it like that. I don't want him to be upset or insulted. I'll just have to explain everything when I cancel."

With that Kyoko stood and brushed off her trousers.

"Thank you Moko-chan. If you hadn't have said anything I probably would've made a huge mistake."

Kanae watched in horror as her friend left. What had she done?

She needed to talk to Yashiro.

---/---

Yashiro was enjoying his own break when Kanae interrupted him.

He had been busy all day and this was the first chance that he had gotten to get himself a cup of coffee. He had a long night ahead of him.

He was just walking down the corridor when Kanae rushed up to him and grabbed his wrist.

"Careful! It's hot!"

"Never mind that." She said, brushing him off. "We need to talk. Somewhere private."

She looked around them and spied a door.

"Perfect."

Opening the door she shoved Yashiro into the room before joining him and shutting the door behind them. With the door closed the room was pitch black and it took Kanae a few moments to find the switch.

She flipped it and a dim bulb flickered on. Yashiro was looking a bit panicked and pressed against some shelves. Kanae was squished up against him. She looked around.

"Huh."

"Ka-Kanae-chan? Why are you…? Why are we…?" He cleared his throat. "Why are we in here?"

"We needed to talk privately." She frowned. "You know, this room looked a lot bigger from the outside."

"This isn't a room! It's a cupboard barely able to hold one person!"

He flushed a deep red as Kanae moved against him to peer into his face.

"Are you ok Yashiro-san? You're going a little red…"

"I-I'm _fine_!"

"And you're breathing heavily. Are you claustrophobic?"

"Yes! No! I mean…um…"

Kanae raised her eyebrow.

"Uh-huh. Well. I have news on the plan front."

Yashiro blinked away his awkwardness.

"Really? What?"

"Well." Kanae shifted again, trying to get comfortable and Yashiro held his breath and closed his eyes until she had finished. "It turns out that Tsuruga-san _did_ ask her to go with him."

"I knew it! I knew the plan would work!"

"But…"

"Oh no. There's a _but_? Why is there always a but?"

"_But_…Kyoko thinks it's her fault that he asked her. Like she was specifically angling to get him to invite her. She feels bad."

Yashiro groaned and hung his head. Why did this always happen? He had a plan. He put the plan into motion and they always, _always_ managed to screw it up somehow.

"Kyoko-chan is going to try and find him sometime today to cancel."

"What?! We have to stop her!"

"What do you want me to do?"

Yashiro closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He had to think of something.

"Ok. Ok. Here's the plan. I get Ren-san out of here as soon as possible. Until then you have to keep Kyoko-chan busy and out of the parts of the building that she might run into Ren-san. Can you do that for me?"

"I can do that. Don't worry."

Yashiro looked down as Kanae grinned up at him and swallowed.

"Perfect. Thank you. You should do that now. Yes. Now."

Kanae raised her eyebrow.

"Um…ok? I'll just -"

The door opened onto them.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realise that this cupboard was taken."

Yashiro stared in mounting horror as a woman smirked at the position that he found himself in with Kanae.

"It's not…it's not what you think!"

"Oh?" she smirked. "So it wasn't something innocent then? Glad to know. Well. You must excuse me I have to go find another unoccupied cupboard. Ta ta!"

The door closed on them and Yashiro could only groan in mortification.

"Well." Kanae cleared her throat. "I guess I'll be going now."

Yashiro just nodded and closed his eyes, not moving until he was sure that Kanae was well and truly away, then he sank to the floor and dropped his head in his hands.

He only hoped that whoever it was didn't know anyone high up and didn't say anything.

---/---

Harumi had to wait until she was well out of earshot before she could burst out laughing.

_That_ had been a priceless moment.

She only wished she had brought her camera!

She had learnt a lot about the plan listening through the door. Now she just couldn't wait to tell Lory who his top manager had been cavorting with!

Heh heh heh…maybe she could get another bet out of the old geezer.

---/---

Kanae was exhausted.

Ever since she had ran out to find Kyoko again she had been rushing all over the building trying to keep up with her.

That girl was not _normal_! How could she have so much energy?!

She had had to keep her busy and then create jobs for her to do whilst trying not to draw attention to the fact that she was trying to keep her busy.

She had given up five minutes ago and was sitting on the floors watching Kyoko finish cleaning up the floor.

"Kanae-chan!"

She looked up as she heard her name called out. Sawara stood at the end of the corridor beckoning her over.

Reluctantly she stood and made her way over to him.

"Yes Sawara-san? Can I help you?"

"Ah, yes Kanae-chan. I was hoping that you were free. Could you run across and delivery this message for me? I'd ask Kyoko-chan but she's busy so…?"

Kanae looked from the message to Kyoko and back.

Could she leave Kyoko for the time it would take to run this message across? Could she trust her friend to not rush off and try and find Ren?

She was pretty sure that Kyoko had no idea that she had purposefully been keeping her busy but, then again, she wasn't completely sure.

Kyoko was sometimes sneaky like that.

It didn't really matter anyway. She would have to trust Kyoko as she couldn't _not_ deliver the message. She was a member of the Love Me section after all.

She sighed and took the note.

"That's great Kanae-chan. Thank you."

Kanae nodded and started on her journey to the other side of the building.

She only hoped that Kyoko had enough cleaning left to do to keep her busy for half an hour.

---/---

Kyoko looked up when she saw Kanae leave. Inside she was a little relieved. Kanae had been with her every moment of the afternoon and Kyoko had barely had found time to breathe let along find Ren to talk to him privately.

This was her chance!

She shoved the mop into the bucket and started to jog down the corridor. She wasn't sure where he would be so she was just going to go to the nearest person who would know.

She stood in the Presidents waiting room staring at Mine-san's empty chair.

Well…this kind of threw a wrench in her plans.

She just stood there, completely non-plussed. Now what should she do?

She was still standing there when a woman came up behind her.

"Hello? Can I help you?"

"Oh, no. Um…well…do you know where Mine-san is?"

"I sent her away for a few minutes on an errand. To deliver a message actually. Was there something that you desperately needed?"

"Well…no. There is nothing that you could help me with."

The woman shrugged and Kyoko turned around to leave.

"If you're looking for Ren-kun he's in the foyer."

Kyoko froze before turning around slowly.

"Wh-what?"

The lady smiled.

"Just a note…in case you were interested?"

"O-oh…thank you! That's what I was wanting to know. How did you know?"

"You'd better hurry. He's leaving right now."

"Ah! Thank you again! Bye!"

She waved goodbye as she rushed off. She only had a very short time before Ren left for the day.

If she didn't catch him now she was going to have to wait until Thursday to catch him again!

She ran down all the stairs at break-neck speed and skidded into the foyer praying that Ren was still there.

---/---

Yashiro was breathing a small sigh of relief.

He had managed to keep Ren away from Kyoko all day and was feeling quite pleased with himself. Though he knew that he was going to have to thank Kanae a lot as well.

They made a great team…

He blushed slightly.

And, even though Ren was a little suspicious, it was all turning out ok because he had Ren sitting in the drivers seat of their car ready to leave and he hadn't seen hide nor hair of Kyoko all day.

A whirlwind of pink rushing into the foyer caught his eye through the glass.

Spoke to soon.

He looked on in horror as he watched Kyoko talk to the girl at the reception desk who pointed straight at him.

Trying no to scream in frustration he practically dived into the seat, fastened his seatbelt, locked the doors and rolled up all the windows.

Ren raised his eyebrow at his managers actions.

"Yashiro-san? Is there something -?"

"Drive."

Ren blinked.

"What do yo-?"

"Drive now if you want to live."

"Now, Yashiro-san. I don't think anything is that dramatic?"

Out of the corner of his eye Yashiro saw Kyoko struggling her way through the crowds and reaching for the door.

"Ren-san. I am being deathly serious. If you do not drive now I will touch every electrical thing you ever own."

Ren's eyes widened and he stepped on the accelerator, speeding away.

Yashiro held his breath as he saw Kyoko appear in the rear view mirror. It wasn't until she was completely out of sight and showed no sign of appearing that he let out his breath.

He had been worried that she would chase after him after the stories that Sawara-san had told him. But it seemed that Kyoko wasn't going to do that in this situation.

He thanked his lucky stars.

"So…" Ren started. "You mind telling me what the big rush was?"

"I…forgot that I had left the stove on at home."

---/---

Kyoko watched as the car sped away.

This was _terrible_! Now she was going to _have_ to make sure that she saw Ren on either Thursday afternoon or Friday. After that the Love Me section broke up for the Christmas holidays and she was sure that if she cancelled during the holidays then it would be too late.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead to try to stave off the headache that she could feel coming on.

This…was not part of her plan.

* * *

**There we go.**

**Longer chapter and my tablet pen has still been kidnapped. (Damn you WriterofShadow!)**

**This means that I can't let her cancel…heh heh heh heh**

***evil smirk***

**DS**


	17. To Cancel or Not to Cancel IV

**Actually - the matter of age came up in a review for the last chapter and I thought I should explain. In this story Kyoko and Kanae are 16 going on 17 (Kyoko's 17****th**** birthday is mentioned later.) So, whilst they are just teenagers it's still all completely legal…and stuff.**

**Well…at least it is in my country. I'm not sure about legal ages in America or the rest of the world really. I mean…I do know drinking ages… :P**

**So, whilst there won't be anything…specific…in the story…Yashiro and Ren can't be branded as anything _weird_. I won't let them be :D**

**Awesome. Ok. Let's move on shall we?**

* * *

Advent '08

December 17th - Everybody shout! 8!

* * *

That morning Yashiro breathed a sigh of relief.

According to the timetable that he had had Sawara send him at the beginning of the month, Kyoko was in school all day today and wouldn't be back in to L.M.E. until tomorrow afternoon.

This was a relief as he wasn't sure that he could keep up the pace of yesterday.

Ren was still looking at him weirdly.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was getting too old for all of this.

The ringing of his phone distracted him and he quickly pulled on his gloves before flipping it open and answering.

He was a little startled to hear Kanae's voice on the other end.

"Yashiro-san?"

"Ka-kanae-chan? What did you..? How did you get my number?"

"I asked?"

"O-oh…what is it that you wanted?"

"I wanted to apologise for yesterday. I let Kyoko-chan out of my sight and she disappeared."

"That's ok. It all turned out ok in the end."

There was a pause and Yashiro looked at his phone in confusion.

"Kanae-san? Are you still there?"

"It is my fault! You asked me to make sure that she was away from Tsuruga-san all day and I failed."

Yashiro was stunned.

"Kanae-chan, please don't think that. It really wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was."

"Okay…why did you leave her?"

Kanae seemed a little stunned.

"I…I had to deliver a message on the other side of the building."

Yashiro smiled.

"And _could_ you have turned down the errand?"

"Well…no…"

"So what's the problem? You had no choice in the matter and nothing happened."

There was a silence.

"…Really?"

"Yes. So don't worry about it."

"Okay then. Thank you Yashiro! I'm so happy I could talk to you!"

Yashiro stared at his phone long after Kanae had hung up.

Did she just…call him _Yashiro_?

He blinked in shock for a moment before a flush quickly spread across his cheeks. Urgh, this was messed up. He was being _blackmailed_ by this girl.

He was so caught up in his thinking that he nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand gripped his shoulder. Clutching his heart, he whirled around.

"Startled?"

Yashiro narrowed his eyes at Ren's smirking face.

"You grabbed me from behind!"

"I don't think that's your main problem Yashiro-san."

"What?"

"You're _blushing_."

Yashiro flushed a deeper shade of red and Ren's grin.

"No I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No I…I was just startled. This is a _startled_ flush."

Ren raised his eyebrows in disbelief, his grin growing wider. Yashiro ground his teeth together in annoyance.

"Let's just go shall we?"

Ren stepped aside and waved him on.

"After you Yashiro-san."

Yashiro stalked past him. Ren was happy today. You could tell because he was being playful.

Of course, that mean that _he_ was going to be on the receiving end of this the entire day and for however long this good mood lasted.

He sighed silently. He was going to die from stress before the awards even took place.

---/---

At school, Kyoko was having a rough time. The rumours had spread like wildfire from yesterday and she was having a tough time staying on top of all of it.

All she could do at the moment was to keep her head down and hope that something would happen to distract the female population from wanting to skin her alive.

She sat down on the toilet that she had accommodated and sighed, dropping her head into her hands.

This was not how she had thought this would all turn out.

Hiding in the toilets during break times so that she wouldn't be victimized by the entire student body.

She hadn't thought that being chosen to be in Sho's video would have had this much negative effect for her.

She should have known though.

She sighed once more and reached for her bag, rummaging around she pulled out a book and settled back to read the rest of the break away.

---/---

That lunch Kyoko wished that she could just disappear.

Nanokura had managed to turn the entire female population against her even further in the few hours she had been away yesterday afternoon.

She had _known_ that that outburst was going to come back to haunt her.

She had to make this right.

She had to admit that she wasn't going to be going to the awards. Maybe then she could have some peace from Nanokura and her cronies. After all, she _wouldn't_ be going…she just hadn't told Ren that fact yet.

She was once again sitting in front of the group of girls. They were once again laughing and throwing things at her.

She was just building up her courage to tell the group that she wasn't going but they weren't really helping her.

She was just waiting for a sufficient lull in the taunting for her chance.

It came only five minutes later when they started talking about her behind her back.

"She's lying."

"She _must_ be lying. There's no way that she's going."

"We could just ask her. Hey! You!"

Kyoko turned around slowly, with dread as Nanokura called out to her.

"Yes?"

"You lied didn't you. There's no way that you are going, right?"

Kyoko opened her mouth angrily but then paused. This was her chance.

This was the perfect opportunity but it was going to hurt.

She took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Actually, I'm not."

Nanokura raised her eyebrow in delight.

"I knew it! Ha ha, you're such a _liar_." she turned back to her friends. "I told you. _A liar_."

"We knew it too Nano-chan."

Nanokura turned back to Kyoko and sneered at her.

"The whole school is going to know what a liar you are."

Kyoko sighed and turned around, leaving the girls to sneer at her behind her back.

"I knew it. I was right all along. I'm always right."

"We know you are Nano-chan!"

"There was no way that she was going."

"We know that too."

Kyoko tensed her shoulders and hunched over slightly, trying to curl in on herself. This was a slow torture.

"There was no way that anyone could have asked her. There's no way that anyone would like her enough to do that. I don't know how she thought that she could get away with it."

Kyoko winced as pain bloomed in her chest. What Nanokura had said was true but it still hurt to hear.

Who would like her enough to ask her out anyway? Ren had only done so because he had felt sorry for her and thought that she had wanted him to take her and felt sorry for her.

Her throat tightened as she thought about it.

The girls laughter echoed around her. She tried to just brush it off but the pain in her chest got to much and she just grabbed her bag and ran out of the room.

She just wanted to get away from the laughter and the pain.

She just wanted it all to stop.

Rushing to the bike shed she grabbed her bike and cycled home.

She needed to talk to someone, anyone.

Once she got home she found her mobile that she had left in her room and flipped it open, hoping to call Kanae to talk to her about everything. She really needed to talk to a friend right now.

She cursed and threw her phone on the bed when it wouldn't switch on.

Damn! She had forgotten that she needed to get a charger for her battery.

She would just have to wait until tomorrow and hope that everything would just wait for one more day.

Everything would be sorted tomorrow.

* * *

**Short and late.**

**DS**


	18. To Cancel or Not to Cancel V

**Dedicated to iNuQTpIe who's birthday was yesterday. Happy Birthday for yesterday!**

**Also, I want to thank my editor who is battling her way through illness to edit these chapters in the…ten minutes I give her to do so. Props to you my man!**

**I'd probably like you a bit more if you weren't holding my tablet pen ransom 200 miles away. Damn it woman! You know I can't do anything!**

**So, to appease her and to ensure the safety of my pen once and for all - I give you this chapter.**

**Unedited at the minute.**

* * *

Advent '08

December 18th - Only 7 days to GO!

* * *

That morning was hell for Kyoko.

She had once again taken to hiding out in the toilets during the break just to get away from all the sneers that she was getting.

Nanokura had spread around that she was a liar yesterday when Kyoko had left early and now she was dealing with the fallout.

Everyone was staring at her and whispering about her behind their hands.

Her reputation, or whatever left she had of it after starring in Sho's video, was completely down the drain now.

She didn't even know if she was going to recover from this.

She sighed as she checked her watch. Two minutes before she had to be back in class. Standing, she stuffed her book into her bag and carefully opened the stall door. Luckily there was no one in the bathroom and she slipped out and quickly made her way through the corridors, avoiding the larger groups of students as she went.

She reached the classroom at the same time as the teacher and she was thankful for that. When she walked into the room, the teacher right behind her, none of the students could do anything to her.

Nanokura shot her a dirty look and slumped down in her seat. The rest of the girls, taking their cue from Mimori, crossed their arms and slumped down in their seats too.

Kyoko sighed in relief.

The good thing about Nanokura's group of follow-on's was that they followed her explicitly. If she didn't do anything to Kyoko then no one else would do something to Kyoko in her presence.

Smiling at the teacher she made her way over to her desk, surreptitiously checking her seat for drawing pins or anything else like that.

She was learning from experience.

She sat down and started to pay attention to her teacher when she started to talk. She only had one more lesson to get through and then she would be out of here until January.

Hopefully by then all this would have blown over. It was amazing what two weeks would do to teenagers resolve to hate.

Besides. They should've gotten distracted by the Winter Awards and forgotten about her perceived slight.

She still had a year or so left being in the same school as them all, so she wasn't going to become really angry with how they were treating her or anything. All she wanted now was to keep her head down and get on with whatever time she had left with them.

Try not to draw any more attention to herself and just focus on perfecting her acting skills, so that she could work her way up in the business and hopefully make her debut sometime.

Sighing softly she propped her chin in her hand and looked out of the window.

Less than an hour to go.

---/---

Arriving at L.M.E. that lunch time, Kyoko felt finally free for the first time in a few days.

She couldn't help but grin as she wheeled her bike into the bike rack and locked it up.

"You look happy."

Kyoko glanced upwards to see Kanae's amused expression. Her grin widened and she straightened and stretched her back.

"I _am_ happy. Everything feels good right at this moment."

She linked arms with her best friend and walked into the building.

"Besides." Kyoko turned to Kanae "I've got you a present!"

Kanae's eyes lit up in delight.

"A present! Really?"

Kyoko nodded and reached into her bag, pulling out a small gift wrapped box.

"Here."

Kanae took it gently before looking up at Kyoko.

"Can I open it now?"

"Sure."

Kanae held the box in her hands for a few moments more before grinning and ripping off the wrapping paper.

"Ooooh! Earplugs!"

Kyoko laughed.

"I thought you might need them over the holidays. What with you having to spend time with all your family and all."

Kanae laughed as well and slipped the present into her pocket.

"You have no idea how much of a lifesaver these are going to be." She paused and rubbed the back of her head. "Actually Kyoko. I haven't got your present with me right now. Can I give it to you tomorrow?"

"Yeah sure! I wasn't expecting you to get me one."

"What? How could you _not_? We're _friends_."

Kyoko shrugged and smiled at her.

"I don't know. I've never really had Christmas presents off people who I didn't consider family…"

Kanae stared at her in amazement before dragging her closer for a hug.

"Silly. Of course you get a present."

Linking arms with Kyoko once again Kanae pulled her into the building.

"Now. We have to get to work or Sawara-san is going to get upset."

They both drew attention to themselves as they burst out into peals of laughter.

---/---

Kyoko spent a few enjoyable hours doing odd jobs and handing out presents to those people that she had grown close to over her months working at L.M.E.

By the end of her shift she had almost forgotten what had been happening to her at school and she only had two more presents to give out. Yashiro's and Ren's.

All she was doing was waiting for an opportunity to find them so that she could give them their presents…and tell Ren that she wasn't going to the awards with him.

That opportunity came only twenty minutes later.

She was cleaning the hallway with Kanae, just wondering how she was going to find them when the lift doors opened and they walked out towards them.

Kyoko smiled and waved at them, missing the worried look that passed between Kanae and Yashiro. Ren smiled at her.

"Kyoko-chan. How are you doing? I haven't seen you in days."

She flushed under Ren's attention.

"I'm okay Ren-san. Actually! I have presents for you both!"

She pulled over the bag that she had been carting around the entire day and looked inside, searching for Yashiro's present. It wasn't hard to find and she handed it to him with a smile on her face.

"There you go Yashiro-san. I hope you like it."

Yashiro took the present with a surprised look on his face.

"Kyoko-chan…you didn't need to get me anything."

She waved him off.

"Oh I know, I just wanted to. Go on! Open it!"

Yashiro pulled off the wrapping paper and his eyes widened when he saw the present. He pulled it out of its box appreciatively.

"Oh wow. This is _wonderful_."

He stared at the fountain pen engraved with his own name.

"You like it? Oh, I'm so glad. I wasn't sure what to get you…and then I remembered that you always carry around your planner with you."

Yashiro flinched at the word planner but hid it quickly.

"It's wonderful. I love it."

"That really is a nice present."

Ren leant over Yashiro's shoulder to get a closer look.

"I got you a present too Ren-san."

"Me? Really? You got me a present?"

Yashiro snorted and Ren knocked his shoulder as he walked past, shooting him a glare. Yashiro just rolled his eyes and grinned at Kanae who smiled back.

Ren stood close to Kyoko as she bent over her bag to get his present. She stood, present in hand but she looked unsure. The excited look that had been plastered over his face dropped off.

Of course, only Yashiro was able to tell because only Yashiro knew him well enough to know when he was excited about something.

Ren being excited was a foreign concept to anyone who hadn't worked with him for at least five years. You learnt to tell his different moods from the minute facial expressions.

"Kyoko-chan? Is anything wrong?"

She shook her head and fingered his present, her eyes averted.

Yashiro and Kanae narrowed their eyes at the scene.

Just what was going on? She wasn't going to cancel _now_ was she?

"Ren-san? Could I…could I speak to you in private for a moment?"

Ren paused for a second before shrugging.

"Sure. We'll just go into here."

Holding her by the elbow he propelled her towards the nearest room.

"Wait, Ren-san! Are you sure you have time for this? Your appointment with the president is in five minutes. Can't this wait? Ren-san? Kyoko-chan?"

"Oh. I'm sorry Yashiro-san. I didn't realise that I was going to be taking up valuable time…" she turned to Ren. "I don't want you to be late to see the president."

Ren glared at Yashiro and kept his grip on Kyoko's elbow.

"The president won't mind me being a little late for the meeting. Besides, I want to hear what Kyoko has to say."

With that he dragged Kyoko into the room and closed the door. Yashiro stared after them.

"No you don't."

---/---

Ren sighed as he closed the door behind him before smiling at Kyoko.

"Now, what did you want to say?"

"Um…here."

She passed him his present and he took it.

"Can I open it here?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

He open his present slowly, taking care not to tear the paper that it was wrapped in. His eyebrow rose when he pulled out a book.

"A dictionary?" He asked.

"Um…it's for difficult and older words…just in case…you know…you find one in your script that you don't understand?"

He stared at her for a moment before looking back to his present and flicking through a few pages. He nodded in understanding.

"Thank you Kyoko-chan."

She blushed.

"N-no problem Ren-san."

He stopped looking at his present and looked back at her.

"Now. What did you want to say?"

She averted her eyes, unable to look at him.

"Well…I…"

"Yes?"

"I…I can't go with you to the Winter Awards."

She tensed, closing her eyes, ready for him to start yelling at her for jerking him around. He didn't say anything though, but she still couldn't look at him.

If she had looked up she would have seen the hurt, clearly visible, on his face.

After a minute he spoke.

"Why?"

Kyoko took a shaky breath and concentrated on the floor two feet to her right.

"I can't go with you. It wouldn't be _right_. I mean…you're _famous_…and I'm not. At least…not right now. I'd just bring you down, Ren-san. You should go with someone more beautiful and famous…someone that will complement you and raise your status…or something.

"I didn't…I didn't mean for you to think that I wanted to go or anything when I asked you about the awards…I just thought that you should go. That was all. I wasn't angling for you to invite me…I mean, yeah…it would be amazing to go to them but I don't want to go to them if it means that you think that I was only talking to you to get you to invite me.

"I wouldn't do that!"

She looked up at him, desperate for him to understand. He stared back, shocked by her outburst.

"I don't want you to think that about me Ren-san. So I can't go with you. Not if it means that you think badly of me again."

Ren flinched slightly at the reminder of how he used to feel about her and how he treated her when she first joined L.M.E.

Kyoko was staring at him, desperation in her eyes, _wanting _him to understand. But all he could do was stare at her, gripping his present.

They stood like that for a minute or two before Kyoko sighed in defeat.

"I'm sorry." she said quietly before walking past him to the door.

Ren didn't know what to say, he didn't know what to do. All he knew was that he had to stop her from leaving the room and possibly his life.

His hand shot out of it's own accord and grabbed her hand.

She turned to look at him, shocked.

"Wait." He whispered. "Please…just wait."

She did. Standing in front of him in silence, her hand still gripped in his.

"Kyoko…Kyoko you _are_ good enough. I don't want…I _never_ thought that you were angling to be invited. I just wanted to you to be there…with me. _That's _why I invited you.

"Not because of any of those reasons."

Kyoko stared at him, still silent, her face closed off to him.

She was slipping away from him, he could tell. She still didn't believe him.

He tightened his grip on her hand.

"Please?"

With that word, she broke.

"Okay, Ren-san. I'll go with you."

A look of relief crossed his face and Kyoko breathed in sharply when she saw it.

"Thank you Kyoko-chan. I'll see you tomorrow? Or at the awards if not, okay?"

"Okay."

He smiled at her before dropping her hand and opening the door, his face once again a blank mask.

Yashiro was standing on the other side, looking suspiciously at him.

"Come on Yashiro-san. We're late for the meeting with the president. Oh, and arrange for Kyoko-chan to be picked up on the twenty forth with me."

Yashiro blinked in surprise, glancing between Ren and Kyoko before smiling and pulling out his planner.

"Okay. I'll do that."

Kyoko watched the whole exchange completely dumbfounded. She had no idea what had just happened.

After Ren and Yashiro had left to go see the president, Kanae came up to Kyoko and raised her eyebrow.

"Well?"

"I tried…I tried to cancel."

"…And?"

Kyoko frowned, completely lost in her thoughts.

"He said please."

Kanae looked at her in silence before she grinned widely and clapped her on the back.

"Well you know what this means, right? Shopping!"

* * *

**There you go. She tried and **_**failed**_**. She didn't cancel and my tablet pen is now SAFE!**

**Hope you enjoyed : )**

**Tell me what you think of the chapter? The story so far?**

**See you tomorrow!**

**DS**


	19. Flashback and a Threat

**Six days left until Christmas Day! Man I'm feeling Christmassy :)**

**But…you have to wonder…what is going to happen next?! :P**

* * *

Advent '08

December 19th - 6 days to go~o! Less than a week!

* * *

Lory was grinning widely as he sat behind his desk.

Yesterday he had scheduled a meeting with Ren and Yashiro and it had revealed far more than he had thought possible.

It also meant that he was currently planning ways to spend the money that he was going to win from his _good_ friend Harumi-chan.

He cackled to himself.

Ah well, she should have known that he would win the bet when she made it with him. It wasn't his fault if he knew Ren better than she and he certainly wasn't going to feel guilty about it.

At all.

He thought back on the meeting with a smile on his face.

---/---

_The knock sounded on his door. Lory braced himself for what he might hear and told them to come in._

_Everything was riding on this meeting. He would find out if Ren was actually going with Kyoko to the awards and if he would be winning back most of his money._

_He was nervous but he didn't show it. He wouldn't want to frighten anyone into doing anything rash now, would he?_

"_Ah, Ren-kun…Yashiro-san. How wonderful that you could join me. Please…take a seat."_

_They settled themselves in the chairs opposite his desk and stared at him expectantly. Lory cringed inwardly at their gazes._

"_The reason that I have called you here is because I wanted to confirm the reservations."_

_Ren nodded, as if this was usual behaviour for the President of L.M.E._

_Mentally, Lory made a note of the reaction. Ren was up to something, he just knew it. Either that or he was dazed…or happy…_

_Sometimes it was just a little too hard to tell. Especially when he was preoccupied himself and didn't have the time to spare to work out all the minute nuances._

_He waited for one of them to speak. After a minute or so of silence his patience, or whatever left he had of it, wore thin._

"_So…?"_

_Ren crossed his legs, elegantly._

"_I will be going to the awards."_

"_That's wonderful Ren-kun. Now…are you going to be taking anyone…?"_

_He was trying to be open, he really was. Ren still looked at him with suspicion though._

"_Yes. Ky…Mogami-chan will be accompanying me."_

_Lory noted the slip and caught himself from asking why Ren intended to take Kyoko out of everyone._

_It wouldn't do to put doubts in the boy's head now, would it?_

_Instead, Lory turned to Yashiro and smiled at him._

"_And you? Will you be going too?"_

"_Yes. Yes, I'll be going."_

"_Accompaniment?"_

_Yashiro blushed a dark red and both Ren and Lory raised their eyebrows at his reaction._

"_A-actually…I will be accompanied."_

_They both waited for him to embellish. Eventually, Lory had to ask again._

"…_By?"_

"_Kanae-chan."_

_Ren smirked and Lory leant back in his chair._

_Well…this _was _an interesting development. Lory smiled._

"_All right then. I'll arrange for a limo to come and pick you up. Yashiro-san, I'll send the information to you later?"_

"_Yes, sir."_

"_Wonderful. That's a load off my mind."_

_Ren and Yashiro stood and left. As soon as the door closed behind them Lory broke out into amused chuckles._

_He was _so_ going to win._

_---/---_

Lory smirked again as he thought over what happened. He was relaxing back in his chair when his office door burst open. Startled he shot upright, his eyes wide.

"Hello there, Lory-kun. Afternoon nap now is it?"

"Hello Harumi-chan."

Harumi grinned.

"Ah Lory, Lory, Lory…" she shook her head, "just what have you been up to?"

Lory smirked smugly at her in response.

"I was just planning how to spend the winnings of our little wager."

The smile dropped from Harumi's face.

"What?"

"Oh yes. You heard that right. _I_ know for a _fact_ that Ren-kun and Kyoko-chan are going to the awards together."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, _really_. And there's nothing you can do about it."

Harumi snorted.

"I wouldn't be to sure about that now."

"Hey, wait a minute. The deal was that we weren't going to interfere."

"But…if you've _already_ interfered Lory-_kun_, then no rules apply."

"I didn't interfere!"

Harumi snorted again and raised her eyebrow.

"Oh _really_. You seem to forget that I have _spies_ Lory-_kun_. Spies that tell me _everything_. You would do better than to not blatantly invite the manager up to your office."

Lory gritted his teeth.

"That was a needed meeting. I just wished to see if I needed to make reservations."

Harumi's eyebrow crept up a notch.

"Oh _really_? Well. If _that's _all that was."

"It was!"

Harumi smiled sweetly at him and Lory felt cold chills crawl down his spine.

"I'll be leaving then." She turned to go but stopped when she reached the door, one hand on the handle. "Just remember though, _dear friend_, that I'm _watching_. That I always am _watching_. And that you can make anything happen if you have enough money and the right contacts."

With that she briskly opened the door, walked out and closed it sharply behind her. Lory sat, shocked…and slightly scared.

Had she just _threatened_ him?!

Lory shook his head. He couldn't concentrate on that right now. He had a plan to execute.

Pressing his intercom he buzzed Mine-san.

"Could you please send up Kanae-chan from the Love Me section? Thank you."

He leant back in his chair, planning how he was going to do this, whilst he waited for Kanae to arrive.

She made a speedy entrance and Lory was silently impressed but he had other things to worry about right at that minute.

"Kanae-chan. Wonderful. I need to speak with you."

"Yes, sir?"

"It has come to my attention that both you and Kyoko-chan are going to the Winter Awards?"

"Yes, sir?"

He nodded and pulled out a credit card, handing it over to a confused Kanae.

"That," he said, motioning to the card, "is a company credit card. I want you to take yourself and Kyoko-chan shopping with it."

"Sir?"

"Buy yourselves outfits for the awards. I know that the Love Me section won't cover very much and I don't want anyone to think that our agency doesn't provide. The awards will be televised across the whole country and the most important people in the business are going to be there.

"Including directors.

"I want everyone from our agency to be the centre of attention."

Kanae nodded in agreement.

"I understand sir."

"Good good." he waved her off. "Take Kyoko shopping with you tomorrow or something. And I'll see you at the awards."

---/---

Yashiro was nervous.

He normally was _never_ nervous. But what he was about to do was not normal and hence the nervousness.

Pacing back and forth in the corridor he wrung his hands together, building up his courage. Kyoko and Kanae should be on their way home any minute now and he wanted to catch Kanae before she left.

This was probably going to be the last chance that he would see her before the awards and he just wanted to clear things up.

He groaned to himself and pinched the bridge of his nose. Some small part of him was screaming at himself, asking what he thought he was doing.

He squished that part down as much as he could. He didn't want to have any doubts at _this_ moment. What good would _that_ do him?

"Yashiro-san?"

His head shot up as Kanae called out to him. She was standing next to Kyoko with a quizzical expression on her face.

"Ah, Kanae-chan." Yashiro shot a glance at Kyoko, "Do you think that I could talk to you? _Alone_?"

Kanae shrugged.

"Sure, why not."

She followed him as they walked a little way away and out of Kyoko's earshot. Kanae turned to face him.

"What was it that you wanted to say?"

Yashiro swallowed and took a large, calming breath.

"I…would like to formally ask if you would accompany me to the Winter Awards."

Kanae looked a little taken aback.

"S-sure! I'd love to go with you."

Yashiro grinned sheepishly.

"Um…that's all I had to say."

Kanae smiled in return and patted his arm.

"Thank you for the invitation." She glanced over to where Kyoko was still waiting. "Um…I'm just going to…you know…"

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, of course. Okay. Well…I'll see you on the night? We're sharing a limo with Ren-san and Kyoko-chan."

"Oh, ok. I'll see you then."

She flashed him one last smile before walking back to where Kyoko was waiting for her with a smirk and a questioning look on her face.

Yashiro watched them walk off together and breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank God that was over, now everything would turn out okay.

He couldn't think of anything that could go wrong.

* * *

**Short but sweet.**

**Heh heh heh…I cant wait until tomorrows chapter!**

**Just a warning though…it might be a little late because I'm moving back home for the holidays tomorrow.**

**Merry Christmas!**

**DS**


	20. Apprehension

**...Well...just remember that you wouldn't let her cancel...**

* * *

Advent '08

December 20th – 5 days to go

* * *

Kyoko was waiting outside of the restaurant bright and early that morning, waiting for Kanae to arrive so that they could go shopping together.

She had hardly gotten any sleep last night because she had been so excited.

She didn't have to wait very long before Kanae turned up slightly flustered and keyed up.

"Kyoko-chan!"

Kyoko grinned and hurried over.

"Kanae-chan, are you ready?"

"Yup!" Kanae flashed the credit card at her. "Let's go!"

An hour later and they were well into the shops and enjoying themselves immensely.

"What about this one?"

Kyoko looked up to where Kanae was holding up a short red dress for her approval.

"Wow...that would look great on you! You should try it on."

"Do you think?"

"Yeah! I want to see you in it!"

Kanae blushed slightly at Kyoko's excitement and made her way over to the changing room. Kyoko hung around the dresses for a few minutes, looking through all the different designs whilst Kanae got changed.

She was excited to be shopping with her friend because she had never done anything like this before. Everything was a new experience and she was happy that Kanae had asked her to go with her.

She was happily daydreaming to herself when she heard her name being called out from the far end of the shop.

Rushing over, her jaw dropped when she saw Kanae in the dress. It was perfect for her, the cut accentuated her figure whilst the colour complemented her hair and made it shine like black satin.

Kanae twirled for her and Kyoko nodded.

"What do you think?"

"I think you should buy it. It looks so great on you."

Kanae grinned at her in response and went back into the changing rooms to take off the dress. When she remerged she grabbed Kyoko by the elbow and dragged her across to the tills.

"Was there anything that you liked?"

Kyoko shook her head.

"No...I don't think there's anything in here that suits me."

Kanae snorted and handed the dress to the sales assistant.

"Nonsense. This is just one shop out of hundreds. Your dress is out there and _we_ are going to find it. We have all day after all."

Kyoko grinned. Glancing over at the till her mouth dropped open.

"Your dress costs more than I make in a year!"

Giggling, Kanae handed over the credit card.

"Yup! The president gave us a card to _shop_ with...to _buy something nice_. I'm holding him to that."

"Do you...think that that's okay?"

Kanae shrugged and picked up the bag with her new purchase in.

"He never said we had a limit on what to spend." Linking arms with Kyoko, she pulled her away from the tills and out the shops. "Right. Now, all we need to get is you a dress. Then we both need shoes, bags, purses, jewellery...maybe a facial and our hair done.

"What do you think?"

Kyoko bit her bottom lip.

"Are you sure that the president didn't say that there was a limit?"

"Yup."

"Well then..."

Kanae grinned at her friend conspiratorially before they both ran across to the next shop in the street.

Lory _really_ shouldn't have left two teenage girls in charge of a credit card with no limit.

---/---

By the end of the day Kyoko and Kanae were both exhausted.

They had gone for facials and had their hair done in the most expensive beauticians they could find. Had bought shoes, bags, jewellery and dresses.

Kyoko had finally found a dress that she liked and that Kanae threatened to maim her if she didn't get it.

In contrast to Kanae's short dress Kyoko's was floor length and completely white. The bottom half was just layer upon layer of a light, semi transparent material what billowed and swirled about her when she walked.

It gave the impression that she was gliding on ice.

They were both sitting down on a bench. Earlier that day Kanae had decided that carrying around all the expensive stuff was not a wise idea and had called up a company car to have their stuff taken to L.M.E. for safe keeping before the big day.

The plan was that they could go and collect it on the twenty fourth and take it home then. It was a better plan than to carry it across the city and have it stolen or something worse.

Kanae was staring at the credit card and flicking it between her fingers as Kyoko leant back where she was sitting.

"This card..." Kanae started, "is the best Christmas present I have ever received."

"I just hope the president doesn't want us to pay him back. It's going to take us _years_ to work this off."

Kanae brushed off the thought and pocketed the card.

"Nah. He never said anything about that. He said he just wanted the best for the agency.

"And we got the best."

Kyoko grinned and stretched, looking at her watch.

"Wow...is it that late already?" she glanced around herself at the darkness. "I guess it is."

"What time is it like?"

"Nine forty."

"That's late. Maybe we should head back home?"

Kyoko nodded and stood.

"I'm just going to call a taxi and go home that way."

Kanae nodded.

"Me too. I'd share but we're heading in completely different directions."

Kyoko smiled.

"This was fun. I'm happy that you invited me to go shopping with you Kanae-chan."

"Me too."

"Meet up somewhere on the twenty fourth?"

"I'll phone you."

Kyoko nodded and hesitated for a second before she dove forward and caught Kanae in a hug.

"This really has been one of the best days of my life."

Kanae chuckled a little off guardedly.

"Kyoko-chan...when you say it like that...it sounds like you think you're going to die."

"I just...wanted you to know how grateful I am that you're my friend."

Kanae patted her on the back before prying her away.

"_Okay_...you're starting to creep me out a little here. I'm happy that we did this too and I'll see you on the Wednesday."

Kyoko nodded and smiled as Kanae searched in her eyes for something. Apparently satisfied, she turned and walked away.

"Remember, Kyoko-chan! Wednesday!"

Kyoko waved in response and turned in the opposite direction.

Now she just had to get home before it got too late and she started worrying Taisho-san and Okami-san.

---/---

Ren was sitting on his sofa, relaxing for the first time in days.

A small smile was continually on his face as her thought about what was going to happen the following week.

He was going to the awards with Kyoko.

He couldn't wait to see what she would look like. He couldn't wait to see her again.

Against his norm he had turned on his television as background noise and was staring at the news uninterested. It was only when a special news bulletin flashed on the screen that he started to pay attention.

"_We interrupt the news for this special bulletin. There has been a twenty car pile-up on one of the major city roads earlier this evening."_

The camera panned across the destruction and Ren leant forward, captivated by what he saw.

"_It is believed that the cause of this tragedy was due to ice on the roads. Citizens are warned that if they intend to travel on the roads they should drive slowly and carefully._

"_Over twenty people have been injured and three having had to be taken immediately into intensive care."_

Ren watched as the presenter paused and seemed to listen into his earpiece.

"_This is just news. It seems that one of the seriously injured is a one Kyoko Mogami, an up and coming idol that some may remember from her role in 'Dark Moon'._

"_Our thoughts are with her and those others that are injured in this tragic accident."_

Slowly, Ren switched off the television and sat in silence.

He was in complete shock.

Kyoko?

The next time he came to himself he was already in his car and driving to the hospital.

---/---

The hospital was a flurry of activity.

Ren arrived, still dazed, and quickly got a nurse to show him the way to where Kyoko was being kept. She was too busy even to recognise his face.

Ren took that for a bad sign.

He restrained himself from sprinting but he certainly made it to her room in record time. He opened the door and found himself in a waiting room. Lory, Yashiro and Kanae were there waiting.

Kanae was sitting, crying silently. Lory and Yashiro was pacing the room.

They turned as he entered but didn't acknowledge him and went back to their pacing.

"What's happening?"

There was silence for a moment before Lory spoke up.

"The doctors are still with her. They haven't told us anything but to wait."

Ren gritted his teeth in frustration and threw himself down in a seat. He shoved her hand through his hair and tried to calm himself down so that the waiting wouldn't kill him.

If was forty minutes later when their waiting was finally rewarded.

An exhausted looking doctor came into the waiting room and smiled tiredly at them.

Ren stood up.

"How is she?"

"Mogami-san is in a stable condition. Luckily she is relatively unhurt but she is still unconscious.

"We don't know when she will wake up.

"It might be tomorrow, a week, or months."

He turned but paused, as if weighing up the consequences. Eventually he sighed.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

**...**

**What?!**

**Don't look at me like that!**

**You all didn't want her to cancel so she didn't!**

**...**

**Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!**

**DS**


	21. Interchangable

**Yesterday, my editor told me off because when she tried to talk with me all I could do was laugh evilly.**

* * *

Advent '08

December 21st – only 4 days left! Woot!

* * *

Kyoko lay in the hospital bed. From what Yashiro could see, she looked completely fine.

She looked like she would wake up any moment.

But with every minute that she stayed unconscious the less likely that was.

Yashiro slumped in his chair and rested his head in his hand as he rested his elbows on his knees.

This was the worst thing that could have happened. His plan had been going perfectly! And now it was all over. All that time, all those secrets, they were all for nothing and now he was sitting here, having been unable to sleep all night for worry.

Kyoko might never wake up and all he could think about was himself and how his planning had been ruined.

He hated himself at that minute.

"You just...can't help it, can you?"

Yashiro grimaced and leant back in his chair, slumping down. He sighed.

"Every single time. I have a plan and either you or Ren mess it up.

"I don't think you do it on purpose...or maybe you do? Maybe I'm being too obvious?"

He paused, like he was waiting for an answer before looking out of the window at the dawn, streaking the sky.

"It doesn't matter anyway. Both of you manage to spoil my plans every time. I don't know how you do it. Sometimes..." he chuckled and turned to face her, a smile dancing on his lips. "Sometimes I think that I should just forgo all the plans and shove you two together.

"Tie you up and tell every last one of your feelings to one another and let you hash it out where you can't run away anywhere.

"But I can't.

"Why can't you just admit everything to one another on your own? It would be so much easier and there wouldn't _nearly_ be so much drama."

He rubbed his face with his hands and looked out of the window again.

"You could be so _happy_ together. I just...don't understand."

He lapsed into silence, the only company was the constant –beep beep- of Kyoko's heart monitoring machine as it recorded that she hadn't slipped away from them all.

---/---

Ren had woken up early from a restless sleep. He ran his fingers through his hair as he watched the dawn through the gap in his curtains.

His dreams had been filled with Kyoko and her death. The dark circles under his eyes were rightly justified and even though he did get some sleep, right now he felt like he hadn't had any at all.

He checked his watch before getting up. The hospital wouldn't let any visitors before ten in the morning and Yashiro had been the only one to stay overnight to keep an eye on Kyoko, to make sure that she was comfortable.

He still had an hour before he could go in to see Kyoko. Sighing he got up and went in the shower, trying to keep himself busy so that he wouldn't think or make himself sick with worry.

---/---

As soon as the clock struck ten Ren was straight through the doors of the waiting room outside Kyoko's private room. He was about to barge through the door but he could hear quite murmuring on the other side.

It was too quiet to make out individual words but Ren was loath to just burst in on whoever was talking. He knew some people needed privacy when he heard it.

Waiting until there was a lull in the conversation, Ren knocked on the door and entered.

Yashiro was sitting alone, staring out of the window at the horizon. He looked exhausted. When Ren entered the room he glanced up at him and smiled tiredly.

"Is there any change?"

Yashiro shook his head and turned his gaze back to the sky.

"No. Everything is just the same. Nothing's changed, no matter how much I wanted it to."

Ren frowned, it seemed like Yashiro was talking about something else. He was about to ask why but Yashiro interrupted him by standing up.

"Well...I better get going. Get some sleep...if I can."

Ren nodded and when Yashiro moved sat down in the vacant chair.

"Goodbye Ren. I'll see you later."

The door clicked shut behind him and Ren was left alone with Kyoko. He reached out tentatively and took her hand.

"Good morning, Kyoko."

There was no response. Ren didn't really expect one but even so, his heart dropped a little. He smiled sadly and squeezed her hand.

"I...I don't know if you can hear me. If you even know I'm here. But...we're all worried about you. Please...wake up soon.

"You just have to. You can't leave us. I can't let you go...I _won't_ let you go."

He took a deep breath to steady himself and checked around him, making sure that nobody had sneaked in during the last five minutes.

Seeing that the coast was clear he turned back to face Kyoko and gently brushed his fingertips across her cheek.

"I...I really care for you Kyoko...even...l-lo..."

He took another glance around himself. Even so he leant forward and lowered his voice.

"I _love_ you..."

He held his breath but the only response to his confession was the constant –beep beep- of the machine that proved that she hadn't left him alone.

---/---

Around lunchtime Lory came to see how Kyoko was doing. He opened the door on Ren sitting with his eyes closed, the back of Kyoko's hand pressed to his lips.

He paused in the doorway, loath to break the tentative spell that had fallen over the best actor in his agency.

The spell was broken anyway when Ren looked up. Lory breathed sharply at the look of pain and despair in Ren's eyes. He slowly placed Kyoko's hand back on the bed but didn't let go.

"Ren-kun?"

"There hasn't been any change." His voice was dull. He sounded like he had already given up any hope that he may have had.

Lory bit his bottom lip nervously before he moved over and helped him up.

"Ren. Why don't you go and get yourself something to eat? I'll stay here with her. You look like you need something strong to drink."

Ren shook his head.

"No. No, I'm _fine..._"

"You're not fine. Look. I'll be here and I'll get a nurse to tell you if there's any change. Okay?"

He practically dragged Ren to a standing position and shoved him out the door.

"Get yourself some coffee Ren. If you want to stay tonight you have to look after yourself too."

Ren nodded, slightly dazed and slowly made his way down the corridor. One of the younger nurses did a double-take when she saw him and looked like she was going to go over to talk to him but she was held back by an older woman who whispered something in the irate girls ear.

The young nurse looked shocked for a moment and glanced between where Lory was standing in the doorway of Kyoko's room and Ren before a look of pity crossed her face and she went back to whatever she had been doing.

Lory sighed and closed the door before making his way over to the chair which Ren had just vacated.

He sat down with a sigh and pressed his fingers to his lips.

"I'm so _sorry_ Kyoko-chan. This is all my fault."

He closed his eyes in pain and leant forward until he was bowed over her lifeless hand.

"If I hadn't have had a bet running on you and Ren then this never would have happened.

"I never thought that Harumi would do something like this though. To set this up? I misjudged her and for that I beg your apology."

He paused, allowing time for her answer, if she had been in any state to answer him in the first place.

Sighing, he continued.

"You have to wake up Kyoko. You can't leave Ren like this. He's _devastated_...and I'm not sure that he even _knows_ it.

"Would you know it? You probably would...you'd probably know a way to cheer him up if he acted this way around you...but you can't do it like this. You have to wake up. It's the only way.

"Please, Kyoko. That boy has been through so much and I'm not sure if he can survive losing you as well as..." he sighed, "...but it doesn't matter now, does it?

"I hate myself for what she did to you Kyoko. What she reduced you to.

"I'm sorry that you got caught up in it all.

"Just...wake up Kyoko. Wake up."

But she didn't wake up. All that told Lory that she was still alive was the –beep beep- of the machine monitoring her heart. As long as he had that sound he knew that Ren would still cling on and he would still have absolution.

---/---

Kanae arrived late on in the afternoon. Both Lory and Ren were sitting with Kyoko and she stood nervously in the doorway waiting for some sort of signal that would allow her to enter.

Lory, seeing her, smiled softly and beckoned her to come over.

She did, but with nervous trepidation. Standing next to the bed, she twisted her fingers together and stared at the floor.

"I...I was wondering...if I could be _alone_ with Ky-kyoko-chan for a few minutes? I just...I just want to ..."

She broke off as her voice choked up. Lory nodded and stood, patting her on the shoulder.

"Of course you can. Ren?"

Ren looked like he wanted to protest but one stern glance from Lory and he turned and walked out of the room. Lory followed and closed the door after them, leaving Kanae alone with her best friend.

Instead of sitting on the chair she sat on the bed and held Kyoko's hand.

"I'm sorry Kyoko-chan. This is all my fault. I should have been with you in that car...we should have shared a taxi together.

"Maybe if we hadn't stayed out so late? You wouldn't be here.

"_I_ was the one who kept you out...dragged you around those shops."

She paused as she thought about it, a single tear rolling down her cheek at the thought of her best friend dying because of her.

"I'm so sorry Kyoko. You have to wake up ok? I couldn't live with myself if the last time that we talked was something that I hardly remember.

"Please?"

Kyoko didn't respond, her hand hung limply in Kanae's grip and another tear fell from Kanae's eye. She gripped her friend's hand close as she choked on a sob.

"Please, Kyoko? Please. I'm begging you! Please wake up!"

But her only response was that of a machine and Kanae broke down completely, sobbing for someone who could neither hear nor comfort her.

---/---

It was late at night when Kyoko received her next visitor.

Ren had just slipped out of the room to get himself a coffee.

Sho watched from where he was hiding around the corner and as soon as Ren was out of sight he hurried into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Kyoko..."

He made his way over to the head of her bed and trailed his fingertips across her forehead. Crouching down, he leant over her face and whispered to her.

"I don't have much time...Tsugura is going to be back any minute and I don't want him to catch me here.

"Who knows what he'd do?

"I just wanted to say that you should wake up, okay?

"You can't leave me like this. I forbid you from staying this way.

"You're _mine_ Kyoko and I won't let you leave me. No matter what you say or do, I won't let you go like this. You hear?

"You boasted to me...you swore that you'd have you revenge...but I'm still waiting Kyoko.

"You haven't had it yet. Are you really that type of girl that would give up that easily?"

He smiled fondly down at her in the silence and pressed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"Wake up, Kyoko. Wake up for me."

The machine beeped at him and he took that as his cue to get out of the room before Ren came back.

Just before he closed the door behind him he glanced back at the girl who had been with him since childhood.

The light from the hallway lit up her body as the rest of the room was swathed in darkness.

She looked like an angel and Sho smiled again.

"I'm waiting Kyoko. Come back to me."


	22. Blank

**My editor threw humous at me because I kept procrastinating. This is what happens when I see her after a four month break.**

**I have BRUSIES!**

**Heh. Ah well, Hope you're enjoying it? Annnnd...I know it's probably early...but what are your thoughts on Advent '09? Would you read it? Or would I be flogging a dead horse so to speak? I'd like feedback on the idea this time around...**

* * *

Advent '08

December 22nd – 3 days to go!

* * *

Ren had fallen into a restless sleep early that morning sitting in the chair and leaning his forehead on his crossed arms on the bed. He was still holding her hand.

It was because of this that he didn't see Kyoko's eyes flickering open. He did however feel her fingers twitch in his own and woke up slowly, not fully aware of where he was or why he had awoken.

He looked across to her face and saw her blinking tiredly up at the ceiling, obviously confused as to where she was.

"Kyoko-chan?" He asked in disbelief.

She glanced over to where he was sitting with his mouth hanging open. Opening her mouth to try and say something all that came out was a dry rasping sound. Ren sat up quickly and poured her a cup of water, holding it to her lips so she could take small sips.

"Wh-?"

Ren smiled at her.

"You're in the hospital. I'm so relieved that you woke up Kyoko-chan. Hang on a moment, I'll call for the doctor."

He stood and opened the door, calling through to the nurses' station to get a doctor quickly. That done he returned to Kyoko's bedside. She had dragged herself up into a sitting position, supported by her pillows and was holding the cup to her lips, eyeing him warily.

"I'll wait until the doctor gets here, and then I'll call everyone else. They're going to be so happy that you're back with us."

He took her hand and held it, unable to stop himself from tracing his thumb across her knuckles.

"I'm so glad Kyoko. I...I thought I had lost you..." he opened and closed his mouth a few times before taking in a deep breath. Kyoko cocked her head to the side in silent confusion. "I have something I want to tell you." He whispered.

She frowned at his expression and carefully retracted her hand from his, clearing her throat.

"I'm...sure you might..." she started, her voice still gravelly. "But...can I ask? Just...who are you?"

Ren froze, his expression one of disbelief.

"...What?"

She nibbled on her bottom lip nervously.

"Who...are you? I mean...I'm sure you're a nice guy and all but...do I know you?"

"You don't recognise me? At all?"

She shook her head.

"Ren! My name's Ren Tsuruga!"

She looked at him blankly and Ren found it hard to breath.

"You honestly don't recognise my name? Face? Anything?"

"I'm...sorry?"

Ren stared at her with a look of horror plastered across his face. How could this be?

He was saved from trying to talk to her again when a flustered doctor rushed into the room. Seeing that Kyoko was sitting up and conscious he grabbed her chart and started flipping through the charts, noting down the numbers that were registering on the machine.

Ren sat back as the doctor did his work. His chest hurt at the thought that Kyoko didn't know who he was and he needed time to process what this meant.

"Right."

Ren looked up as the doctor snapped the chart shut with finality.

"I'm going to order a CT scan to make sure that there aren't any fractures or bleeds that we missed."

He turned to leave but Ren shot out his hand and grabbed the man by the elbow.

"Wait doctor."

"Yes?"

"Kyoko-chan doesn't remember me...or anything..."

The doctor turned to look at Kyoko who just shrugged helplessly.

"Well. Amnesia is a typical side affect to head injuries."

"And how long will it last? Will she ever remember me again?"

"It's possible. These things are very hard to predict. It could last from a couple of hours to a few months.

"To be honest...it is possible that she might never remember who she was before the accident."

Ren's jaw dropped in horror and the doctor nodded his head sadly.

"I'm sorry Tsuruga-san. But it is a possibility.

"I'll go and arrange that CT scan."

With that he left the room. Ren stared after him and kept staring at the door after it had closed.

"Ex-excuse me...?"

Ren turned to face Kyoko.

"Yes?"

"Um...I was just...what's your name again? I'm sorry."

"Ren Tsuruga."

"Ah...um...what do I call you?"

Ren opened his mouth to reply when he paused, a thought crossing his mind. Heh. He could use this to his advantage.

"Ren-kun."

"So...um...we're _close_ then?"

"...yes."

"Ah..."

"If you will excuse me? I will call the rest of your friends to come and visit you. They will be happy that you have woken."

He smiled softly at her and brushed his fingers down her cheek before standing abruptly and leaving the room.

Kyoko watched him go and traced her fingertips across her cheek, following his path before she rubbed her forehead.

Just how close were they?

---/---

Kanae, Lory, Yashiro, Taisho and Okami arrived all together after they had travelled over in one of the company's car.

They entered the room quietly and smiled at Kyoko when they saw that she was awake and sitting propped against her pillows.

Kanae and Yashiro shared a small look between them when they saw Ren quickly let go of Kyoko's hand.

"Ah...hello?"

They smiled at her, knowing from Ren's phone call about the situation.

Ren stood and pointed to them each one by one.

"This is President Lory Takarada. He's in charge of the L.M.E. agency where you work as an actress."

Kyoko nodded and smiled shyly.

"Hello."

"I'm glad to see that you are awake Kyoko-chan."

"This," Ren said, continuing down the line "is Yukihito Yashiro. He's my agent but you are friends."

"Hello Kyoko-chan."

"This is-"

Kanae pushed past him and hugged Kyoko.

"I'm Kanae Kotonami. We're best friends."

"Really?!"

She smiled and nodded.

Ren raised his eyebrow and moved down the line.

"This is...um..."

"We're the Okami and Taisho of the restraint where you have a room. You used to work for us before you got a job at the L.M.E."

Kyoko bowed as best she could whilst sitting down.

"Nice to meet you." She paused and looked confused for a moment. "Is that all? Isn't there one other?"

"Well no. There is one other." Lory said as he moved forward to the end of her bed. "My Granddaughter, Maria. She's overseas with her father at the moment."

Kyoko frowned for a moment and rubbed her forehead. She shrugged when nothing came to mind.

"I guess that must be it."

Ren looked apprehensive but was interrupted by a knock on the door. The doctor entered the room and smiled at the people gathered there.

"What did the CT scan reveal?"

The doctor took the chart and flipped through the pages again paying attention to the figures written on the last page.

"Well...it seems that the CT scan came out clear. There were no bleeds or fractures of the skull."

"What does this mean?" Lory asked.

"I can't say for certain...but...if these numbers stay constant. Then I see no reason for Mogami-san to stay in the hospital. She _will_ have to stay in overnight for observation...

"But if there are no further complications than she will be able to be released tomorrow."

Lory nodded. "And the amnesia?"

"There's nothing that we can do for that, unfortunately. All we can do is give her time and see if the memories that she lost return."

Silence fell in the room. Okami-san turned back to face Kyoko and smiled warmly at her.

"If you get released tomorrow then we'll be ready for you to come home."

Kyoko smiled gratefully at her.

"I'm sorry we can't stay longer but the restaurant needs to be opened."

"Thank you for coming."

Okami-san smiled again and linked arms with her husband. She raised her hand in farewell and they both left the room.

Kyoko rubbed her forehead again.

"My forehead feels a little strange."

Kanae grinned.

"You were in a car accident and have been unconscious for over a day. Your head is bound to feel a little strange."

Kyoko still looked a little unsure but she stopped and smiled in return.

"I guess."

Kanae grabbed her hand and looked at the men in the room. Chuckling Lory patted Ren and Yashiro on the back.

"Come on boys. I think the girls would like to be alone for a moment. Let's go get something to drink."

He ushered them out of the room, ignoring their protests and closed the door behind them with a smile.

As soon as they had gone Kanae turned back to Kyoko and grinned, hugging her close.

"I'm so glad that you're alright Kyoko-chan."

"Thank you...um..."

"Kanae-chan."

Kyoko smiled sheepishly but Kanae waved off her hesitation.

"We have so much to talk about!"

"We do?"

"Yes. First off...how much do you remember about the Winter Awards?"

"Awards?"

---/---

"So...let me get this straight. Ren-kun asked me to go to the awards with him?"

"Ren-_kun_?

Kyoko looked nervous.

"Is there something wrong? That's what he told me I called him."

Kanae raised her eyebrow.

"Oh he did, did he?" seeing the look she was being given, Kanae smiled at Kyoko to try and relieve some of her fears. "No, no...there's no problem...I...um...just thought that I might never hear your voice again and I'm just so overcome.

"That's all."

"Oh." Kyoko smiled. "It makes me happy that I have a friend like you Kanae.

"For some reason...I don't think that I had many friends before...but I can't remember."

Kanae gripped her hand in response and smiled at her.

Kyoko smiled back before yawning widely, her eyelids drooping in tiredness. Kanae stood.

"I'm going to go see if I can find Tsuruga and everyone and let you sleep."

Kyoko nodded in response and shuffled down the bed, pulling the covers up around her neck. She heard the door click shut just as she was dropping off to sleep.

Without realising it she brought her hand up and traced her fingertips across her forehead.

Ironic though it was, she had the feeling that she was forgetting something or _someone_ important.


	23. It's called Close Observation

**:O I have become CLICHÉD! Oh amnesia...you are my friend...**

**Do people really hate the cliché that much? Is it really that bad? **

**Woe.**

**Short chapter.**

* * *

Advent '08

December 23rd – HOLY MOLY ITS 2 DAYS AWAY!!!!!

* * *

Kyoko woke slowly from a deep sleep. The hospital room was dim so it took her a few seconds to realise that there was a person sitting in the seat next to her bed.

Jumping in fright she fumbled for the light switch.

"Don't bother, Kyoko-chan."

The person clapped twice and the lights switched on. Kyoko looked around in surprise.

"I didn't realise that the lights did that if you clapped."

The woman sitting beside her looked at her blankly.

"They don't."

She smiled at Kyoko's confused expression and leant back in the chair, steepling her fingers together.

"Do I...know you?"

The woman smiled.

"You're in the hospital and have amnesia. Do you know anyone at this point?"

"I guess that's true. What's your name?"

"You may call me Harumi-san."

Kyoko smiled at her.

"Hello Harumi-san. Was there anything that I can do for you?"

"Again. You're in the hospital. Just what exactly did you think that you would be able to do?"

Kyoko looked sheepish for a moment and scratched the side of her head.

"But still...there must be a reason that you came?"

Harumi held up her hands, palms facing outwards.

"Can't I just be here to look over you and make sure that you're ok?"

Kyoko raised her eyebrow.

"If that was the case, then why is there a television in my room?"

They both turned and stared at the large flat screen television positioned at the bottom of Kyoko's bed.

"Maybe I brought it in case I got bored?"

"So you could watch T.V. when there's a patient sleeping?"

"Headphones."

"You don't have any."

The stared at each other for a moment, tension thickening the air. Harumi smiled.

"You." She said, pointing her finger at Kyoko. "You. I _knew_ you'd be fun. I was right of course, I always am. Always get my way, I make sure of that."

They lapsed into silence again until Kyoko realised that it was her turn to say something.

"So...um..._why_ are you here again?"

"Well. You see Kyoko, I have this problem...and you're the only one that I can think to fix it."

"O...kay?"

"You see. I had this...well...let's just call it a _plan_ for the moment. I had this _plan_ and you were a part of it. You see...I was planning something at the awards and I needed you specifically there.

"Unfortunately, you got into an accident and my plan was messed up.

"I thought that it was going to be completely unsalvageable but you woke up."

Kyoko blinked and took a deep breath, trying to sort out what, exactly, she was hearing.

"So you want me to go to the awards?"

Harumi nodded.

"That is...pretty much what I want to happen. However, Lory-kun and everyone are going to forbid it or some such nonsense because of the head trauma and subsequent coma and other such small matters."

"So...how can I help you?"

Harumi smiled, narrowing her eyes at Kyoko who shivered in terror.

"Here's the thing."

She turned and switched on the television with the remote.

"This is a _very_ interesting video I found...of you and Ren-kun..."

Kyoko watched horrified as the images played on screen. Harumi kept grinning even as she narrated.

"See? I this is some footage of why you were his manager for a few days...and oh look! _This _is where you undressed him.

"Well...you didn't undress him per se but from this angle and with a few minor edits it looked like you took off all his clothes."

Kyoko couldn't get any words out as the video rolled. She just kept opening and closing her mouth in shock.

"Ooh! Scene change! This is...actually, this is more recent. When you were over at Ren-kun's house to practise for your roles in 'Dark Moon'.

"Aaaaaaaand....there you go! Ha ha...from _this_ angle it looks like something very..._rated_...is happening."

"Wh-wha-wha-what?!"

Kyoko clutched her head as blinding pain shot through her temples, darkening her vision. When the pain lessened she uncurled herself and looked at Harumi.

"I remember! That never happened!"

Harumi shrugged at her outburst.

"I never said it did."

"No one will believe you!"

At this Harumi smirked.

"Oh, but they will. I don't even have to say anything. I just have to post this anonymously to a television station and they will do the rest.

"The joy of modern technology.

"Do you really think that Ren-kun is going to be able to survive this? Especially when this is only twenty minutes of footage."

Kyoko stared at the woman in horror.

"What do you want then?"

"I told you. I want you to go to the awards. Do anything you have to, to get there."

"And if I don't?"

Harumi's smile widened.

"Well...if you _don't_...then this video will go public and I will make every single person in this entire country turn on Ren-kun. Do you understand?"

Kyoko nodded.

"Wonderful!"

Harumi stood and brushed down her skirt as she prepared to leave. She got to the door when she paused, a thought crossing her mind. Turning back, she looked at Kyoko.

"Did you say that you have your memories back?"

"Y...es?"

"Perfect. Some rules then. You tell anyone about this? I will destroy you and you're friend's careers.

"You tell anyone about the video and I will go global with it.

"Don't even think about writing down what has happened. If _anyone_ finds out _anything_ I will ruin your life. Do you understand me?"

"Yes. I understand."

Harumi smiled.

"Good, good. Wouldn't want anyone to guess the surprise now, would we?"

"...No?"

Harumi went to open the door again when she was hit by another thought.

"Ah! I almost forgot. You have to keep pretending you have amnesia. If anyone finds out that you don't then I'll do the same as above and blah blah blah. You get the drill."

"Amnesia? I have to keep pretending? _Why_?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Harumi smirked. "This means that you're still going to have to call Tsuruga '_Ren-kun_', after all, we wouldn't want the disguise to slip now, would we?

"I'm looking forward to seeing you at the awards Kyoko-chan."

With that parting shot she left the room.

Kyoko stared at the closed door, completely gobsmacked before she flushed brightly and dragged the covers up over her head.

Ren-kun? She had to call Ren-san that?! Oh God. This was so embarrassing.

Why on earth had he said that that was what she called him?!

Had he been playing with her?

If so then that was a very mean thing that he had done.

And now she had to call him _Ren-kun_ until whatever Harumi had planned had come to pass!

Could she last that long? Or would she have already have died from the mortification?

She sighed and dragged the covers down.

She was trapped and she saw no way out. There was nothing that she could so except go to the awards as she wasn't going to let _that_ video get out.

...speaking of video...

She crawled to the bottom of her bed and pressed eject. The video came out with a whirr and Kyoko took it from the machine and read the label.

_You can have this copy – I have more! :D_

Kyoko sighed and went to switch off the screen, only she pressed the wrong button by accident and the television switched to a live feed.

Kyoko stared in horror as she saw herself sitting on her hospital bed. She looked around her frantically.

Where the hell were the cameras?!

---/---

That afternoon Ren came to pick her up from the hospital once the doctors had decided that she was fit to go home.

Kyoko sat in the front of his car as he drove her to the restaurant, the video safely tucked away in the small bag that contained her things that the hospital had put to one side when they had brought her in.

They sat in a comfortable silence and it wasn't until Ren pulled up outside the building that Kyoko turned to him.

"Ren-k...kun?" she asked, a slight blush across her cheeks as she realised the liberties she was taking.

"Yes, Kyoko-chan?"

"Um...I know...that you might think that it's too forward of me but...Kanae-chan told me about the Winter Awards and how you invited me?"

Ren frowned, puzzled as to where this was going.

"...Yes?"

"Well...I think...I think that I would still like to go with you. If you still want me to that is?"

Ren's eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

"You still want to go with me? Even though you don't remember me?"

Kyoko closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Yes. I would still like to go with you to the awards."

They sat in silence for a moment before Ren smiled at her.

"Okay then. I'll make the arrangements for everything."

Kyoko returned his smile before it all became a little too much for her to handle and she got out of the car.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Ren-k...kun?"

"Tomorrow."

He held up his hand in farewell and drove off. Kyoko watched him go before she dropped her head into her hand.

Just what was she caught up in?

* * *

**This...is going to have cliché in it, there's no avoiding it. ****This is only a fanfic after all. **

**Hopefully...**_**that**_** wasn't predictable.**


	24. Christmas Eve

**Hallo! **

**Woo! **

**Christmas is tomorrow! **

**This month had just flown by. Maybe it's because of all the updates? The year's disappeared quickly as well.**

* * *

Advent '08

December 24th – Christmas Eve

* * *

Kyoko had spent a nerve wracking night lying in bed. She hadn't slept.

She hadn't been _able_ to sleep.

Thoughts of what had happened yesterday had ran through her head and she had found herself pacing the floor more than once in the night trying to figure out what she could do.

She hadn't come up with anything so she was going to have to play along with whatever Harumi wanted right now.

What was the most irritating this about it all was that she didn't actually _know_ what it was that Harumi had planned. Only that she was part of it.

And she was going to have to call Ren '_Ren-kun'_.

She blushed just thinking about it. At least he hadn't asked her to call him just 'Ren'.

_That_ would be embarrassing.

As such, she had got up that morning and looked a wreck. Kanae had been shocked when Kyoko had opened the door to her.

"Um...did you die in the night?"

Kyoko was about to say something but caught herself just in time. What would she say if she couldn't remember anything? In the end she had paused for too long so she just smiled sheepishly and moved out of the door way so that Kanae could pass into the restaurant.

"So...Kanae-chan...What's with all the bags?"

Kanae followed Kyoko up the stairs shuffling the bags around as she listed off the contents.

"Well...this is the dresses, shoes and purses that we bought. I picked them up yesterday. Aaaaand...this is the jewellery.

"We'll sort out this stuff when we get upstairs.

"And _this_ is some of my make-up and stuff that I borrowed off my sisters. We're going to have a girly time today to get ready. I also brought some music and my music player."

Kyoko looked backwards and shot Kanae a grin.

"This is going to be fun, isn't it?"

"Of course!"

---/---

The day passed quickly and by the time six o'clock came around Kanae and Kyoko were dressed and ready to go.

Kyoko had been nervous through the whole day, she had been preoccupied with whether or not she was acting as if she had lost all her memories or not. She couldn't let anyone find out that she remembered anything or everyone's careers would be ruined.

It was a lot of pressure that she had to deal with.

And she couldn't even tell anyone about it. She just had to find a way to fix all of this.

They stood together in the entrance hall, waiting for the limo to arrive. Kanae was checking her appearance in the mirror once more and Kyoko was fidgeting, bouncing up and down on her toes.

"Kyoko-chan! Stop bouncing. You're making _me_ nervous."

"Ah...sorry Kanae-chan."

She stopped bouncing for a moment but started up again almost immediately. Kanae just sighed at her friend and went back to checking out the window by the front door to see if the limo had arrived.

Kyoko watched her friend, wondering what she was supposed to say.

"Are they here yet?"

"No."

"...now?"

"No."

"...n...ow?"

"No! Would you stop asking me that?!"

Kyoko twisted her bracelet on her wrist. There was something that was bugging her and she really wanted to ask...but she was unsure whether or not Kanae would figure out that she had her memories.

She decided to ask anyway.

"Um...Kanae-chan? Why did you say yes to Yashiro-san?"

Kanae tensed before slowly turning around to face Kyoko. There was a brief silence before Kanae smiled slightly.

"Can you keep a secret?"

Kyoko nodded.

"Truth is...I kind of _made_ him ask me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Blackmail?"

Kyoko's eyes widened.

"You _blackmailed_ Yashiro-san?! Why?"

"Because...I really, really like him? And he wouldn't see me and I couldn't _tell_ him. So...yeah."

Kyoko raised an eyebrow and grinned at her friend's awkwardness.

"Oh ho!"

Kanae narrowed her eyes.

"Quiet, Kyoko. Just...quiet."

Kyoko snorted as Kanae went back to looking out of the window. Without realising, Kanae had relieved a lot of her stress without even realising it and now she was feeling a little excited at the prospect of going to the awards.

She grinned at the back of Kanae's head.

"So...is it there yet?"

"No! How may time do I...? Oh wait...there it is."

The shot each other a look and burst into laughter. They were still laughing when they opened the door to Yashiro and Ren.

"Are you girls...okay?"

They tried to speak but could only nod. For some reason they were finding it extremely funny for no apparent reason.

Ren and Yashiro looked at each other and shrugged. They offered their arms to their dates and waited for them to link with them before they escorted them to the limo.

The girls settled themselves in the back, sitting next to their respective man.

"Here. I got you..."

Kyoko looked over to Ren who was slightly flushed. Her eyes widened and she blushed as she saw the corsage he held in his hands; one white rose surrounded by holly. Kyoko held her hand out shyly and watched as Ren slipped on the flower.

"It matches the one I'm wearing."

Kyoko looked up from her corsage to the one Ren was wearing on the lapel on his black tuxedo.

"I...got you one too Kanae-chan."

Kanae looked over as Yashiro pulled out a corsage consisting of one red rose surrounded by holly. Sure enough, Yashiro was wearing a matching corsage on the lapel of his black tuxedo.

Kyoko and Kanae shared a grin.

This was starting to get exciting!

---/---

Kyoko and Kanae pressed themselves against the windows of the limo as it drove up to the red carpet. On both sides the paparazzi and fans were roped off and cheering the celebrities that were making their way through the doors.

Ren reached for Kyoko's hand and gripped it. When she looked over at him he smiled gently at her and squeezed slightly.

"I'm so glad that you still decided to come."

Kyoko blushed, speechless.

"Shall we?"

Ren reached over and opened the door, letting Kyoko out first before he quickly followed. Yashiro and Kanae came after.

The crowds screamed loudly when they saw Ren and the paparazzi went crazy, so that all Kyoko could see was the flash of bulbs.

She was feeling a little out of her depth when Ren took her hand and linked it in his arm. Leaning down he whispered softly into her ear.

"Don't worry. I'm right here."

Kyoko shivered as his hot breath caressed the shell of her ear.

The crowds hushed slightly as they witnessed the intimate moment between the two stars. The noise level was soon back up to its normal pitch when Ren smiled softly at Kyoko and waved to his fans.

---/---

Yashiro turned to Kanae.

"Do you mind being upstaged by them?"

He seemed worried and Kanae leant into his arm.

"No. Not really. Not tonight."

Yashiro flushed slightly and cleared his throat before they followed Ren and Kyoko down the red carpet.

---/---

Ren was having a wonderful time. He was at the awards with the girl he loved and she looked beautiful. There was no way that this moment could be ruined.

"Sho?"

Ren started as Kyoko spoke. He stared as Sho turned around up ahead and stared at Kyoko.

"Kyoko-chan? You look..."

He broke off, breathless and Ren bristled at the look Sho was giving _his_ woman.

"Mogami?!"

Ren felt a little smug as a loud girl around Kyoko's age latched herself onto Sho's arm.

"What are _you_ doing here? I thought you were in the hospital! And you said you weren't going!"

Kyoko flinched slightly at the accusing tone in Nanokura's voice and started to stammer.

Ren moved so he was standing protectively between Kyoko and Sho's date. He stared down the girl before turning his icy gaze on Sho, freezing down whatever fires he had running through his veins.

He smiled.

"It would do you well to keep your date under control Fuwa-san. You wouldn't want the paparazzi to get hold of anything...career damaging..."

He bowed slightly, politely and placed his hand over Kyoko's which was still linked through his arm, keeping her from pulling away.

Well, that and the fact that he wanted to reassure himself that she was still there. With him.

Breezing past a stricken Sho and date he waved once more to his fans and pulled Kyoko with him through the doors and to relative safety.

---/---

Kyoko breathed a sigh of relief as the doors closed behind them and the sound of the crowds dimmed slightly.

Ren still had a hold of her hand and it felt like a brand on her skin. Strangely, she didn't really mind and unconsciously leant closer into Ren.

They were shown into the large hall that the awards were being given at. Yashiro and Kanae were right behind them and Kyoko gaped in amazement.

She had _never_ seen anything like this before. The high, arched ceilings were decorated with softly glowing golden fairy lights. There were hundreds of tables littering the floors, each sitting six people and covered in a dark burgundy tablecloth with candles lighting up the tables and each setting had sparkling silverware.

Ren led Kyoko over to their table and sat her down next to him. Kanae sat down next to her with Yashiro on her other side.

"Who's the other two on out table?" she asked.

Ren leant over and read the place names.

"President Lory Takarada of L.M.E. and..."

"That would be me."

Everyone looked over as Harumi appeared by their table. Kyoko's face fell when she realised who it was. She glanced around but no one else seemed to recognise her.

"I don't mean to be rude but...do I know you?"

Harumi giggled at Ren.

"Ren-kun! I haven't seen you in...It must be going on eighteen years now."

Ren's eyebrows shot into his hairline.

"You knew me when I was a child?" he asked.

"Of course, I am close friends with both Lory-kun and your father. But you wouldn't think it, what with the not writing or phoning for over a decade."

Ren blinked.

"I apologise. So what line of business are you in?"

"I'm in the entertainment business. I arranged this award ceremony and everything that comes with it."

She smiled at Kyoko and Kyoko felt the bottom of her stomach disappear.

"Don't worry though. I'm going to be giving the awards out so I won't be sitting with you for most of the night. But I shall be watching."

Kyoko flinched at her words but still managed a polite smile. Harumi smiled sweetly in return and fluttered off somewhere else to go do something important.

Kyoko groaned inwardly. Harumi was going to be sitting at their table?

This was going to be a long night.

---/---

Fortunately for Kyoko, the night passed very quickly from then on out.

The tables soon filled up with agents, celebrities and their dates.

Kyoko had thought that she would be nervous about slipping up and Harumi's threat but Ren held her hand the entire night and wouldn't let go, effectively distracting her from her thoughts.

The only time that he left her side was to go and collect his award for best male personality, best actor and most popular male in the entertainment industry.

Kyoko wasn't sure but she thought she could feel waves of hate emanating from somewhere in the room when Ren's name kept getting called out.

Even Yashiro got an award for most desired manager, which he really wasn't expecting judging by the look of shock on his face when his name was called out.

The only downside of the whole thing was that, every once in a while, Kyoko could feel Harumi's gaze on the back of her neck. So, even with Ren distracting her she was still reminded every now and then of the secret she had to keep from everyone.

---/---

When the awards were done and dusted and everyone had eaten their fill the doors leading to another room were opened and Harumi led the way onto the ballroom floor.

This room looked almost the same as the one they had just left only the tables were pushed to the sides to clear the floor and there were sprigs of mistletoe dotted about the room.

Kyoko laughed when Kanae and Yashiro got caught underneath some and the people surrounding them, realising what had happened, wouldn't let them escape until they had kissed each other.

Both Kanae and Yashiro were very red by the time they had escaped the amused laughter.

"Kyoko-chan? Would you like to dance?"

Kyoko blushed as Ren bowed down to her and offered his hand.

"I would love to Ren-kun."

He smiled at her and twirled her into his arms before spinning her slowly around the dance floor.

"They look good together, don't they?"

Yashiro looked down at Kanae before looking back up to where Ren and Kyoko were dancing.

"Yes. They do."

He paused and scratched his nose in embarrassment.

"Um...Kanae-chan...I'm sorry about...about before..."

She turned and grinned up at him.

"Don't be. I didn't mind all that much really."

"You...didn't?"

She laughed at his expression before stepping forward and twirling back to face him.

"Yashiro-kun, would you like to dance?"

Yashiro stood stunned for a few seconds before he chuckled too and reached out to grasp the hand she offered him.

"I would love to."

---/---

Kyoko was breathless.

Ren had kept her dancing most of the night and it was now nearing midnight. She had managed to extract herself from his arms, laughing and saying that she needed a drink.

He had let her go, looking a little reluctant, especially when she turned down his offer to get her a drink. He had been about to press the point when Harumi had sidled up to him and had wanted to talk to him about his father.

Kyoko had been reminded then that she was under the woman's control and had felt nervous. Had Harumi thought that she was going to tell Ren? Or that she had already told Ren?

She had tried to get that across to Harumi but the woman had ignored her and Kyoko feared saying something out loud in case the truth was found out.

She had sighed and made her way over to the drinks table.

But even Harumi could dampen her spirits for long. She was having a _wonderful_ time!

"Hello Kyoko. I've been trying to get your attention all night."

Kyoko choked on the sip of water she had taken and Sho looked on amused as she coughed.

"Sho. What are you doing here? Where's Nanokura?"

He waved her off.

"Oh, she's _somewhere_ around. Girl practically begged me to bring her here then she disappears."

Kyoko narrowed her eyes.

"What do you want Sho?"

"Well...I just wanted to ask you how you were."

Kyoko was caught of guard.

"You did?"

He nodded and looked serious. Kyoko found herself almost believing him.

"Yes, I heard about your accident on the news and I –"

"Hey! You're standing under mistletoe!"

Sho was cut off as a random celebrity, who had been getting a drink at the same time, spotted their predicament.

As if they were wolves smelling blood others soon surrounded them and Kyoko found that there was no way to escape.

"Well go on then! Kiss! We're not letting you get out until you do!"

"No I –" Kyoko started, her hands held up in front of her, trying to ward them off.

"Go on!"

The man who had first noticed them shoved Sho in the back and he stumbled forward.

---/---

Ren was suffering quietly and politely and Harumi told him story after story of his embarrassing baby exploits. He was shocked back into reality when Harumi grabbed his arm and pointed towards the drinks table.

"Ooooh! Look over there!"

Ren looked.

His jaw dropped.

Sho and Kyoko stood under the mistletoe, surrounded by a bunch of cheering and slightly inebriated celebrities having a good time. Sho was leaning over Kyoko, his lips pressed to hers and Kyoko's hands were gripping his lapels.

* * *

**Ha.**


	25. Christmas Day

**Okay. I just have one thing to say from yesterday that I forgot.**

**HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!**

**Oh man! You have no idea how much I enjoyed cutting it off there!**

**Best. Cliff. Hanger. Ever.**

**:D**

**I'm getting the feeling that this year's Advent was a lot more confusing than last year's?**

**Better plot line maybe?**

**If you're going to listen to music whilst reading this – start with 'Fairy Tales of New York' – it's what I'm listening to when I'm writing this chapter.**

**The first scene was a request from my editor WriterofShadow. I wasn't planning on having it in but she asked me to as a Christmas present and she's been so good to me this past month that I though...why not?**

**Dedication: For everyone who has reviewed or will review. You guys are the best and kept me going when I started to flag halfway through the month. Too numerous to list but you are AWESOME!**

* * *

Advent '08

December 25th – Happy Christmas!

* * *

Kyoko stood frozen in place as Sho's lips pressed into hers. She could feel his heartbeat speed up under her palm. The palm she had held up to ward off this moment.

Oh dear Lord.

Sho also seemed to be frozen at what had happened. Or at least that's what she thought until his eyes slid slowly closed.

Horror closed off her throat. _What was he doing?!_

She tried to push him off but her arms either weren't listening to her or she had no strength left. She was panicking when, suddenly, Sho was yanked backwards violently, his eyes springing open. Kyoko thought she saw a flash of fear pass through them.

The next thing she saw was Ren holding Sho by the front of his shirt and lifting him until he was standing on his tiptoes. Sho had his palms up, trying to beg for mercy.

"It was an accident! I swear! I didn't mean to! I was PUSHED!"

Ren didn't seem to be listening. He looked _furious_. Kyoko had never _ever_ seen him like this before. He was more than scary, he was downright _terrifying_ and Kyoko and the group of celebrities scrambled backwards away from him.

"You _dare_ to kiss Kyoko?"

Ren whispered the words but everyone heard them clearly.

Sho died a little inside.

"What? No! No, no, no, no. That isn't..."

He grew more and more panicked as Ren's face grew more and more dark. Kyoko was eight feet away and _she_ was choking from the death vibes Ren was exuding.

She had no idea how bad Sho had it.

The music had been cut off and everyone had turned to face the scene playing out in front of them.

Kyoko felt sorry for Sho. And _that_ was a forgotten feeling.

There was a tense stand-off. Ren still had Sho in the air and Sho was breathing heavily and sweating in fear, trying to keep Ren from killing him.

One small thing could spark the whole thing off and everyone seemed to realise this. They kept as quiet and still as they could.

Unfortunately, Sho didn't get the memo. Either that, or Ren was becoming too much for him. He looked frantically over to Kyoko and held out his hand, begging her with his eyes.

"Kyoko, tell him! Tell him it was an accid-"

"DON'T CALL HER BY HER NAME!"

Something in Ren snapped and in one fluid motion he dropped Sho and drew back his fist.

Sho, who hadn't been prepared to take his own weight so suddenly, staggered a little and looked up...

...just in time for Ren's fist to smash into his jaw.

Sho dropped immediately, blood pouring down his chin, too dazed to bring his hand up to stop the bleeding. His white shirt was slowly staining red.

Kyoko felt sick and clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. Why did this have to happen? It was Christmas! It was her seventeenth birthday!

She didn't want this. She had thought she had wanted to hurt Sho but she hadn't wanted this.

A sob escaped her fingers, breaking the spell everyone seemed to be under. She spun and ran out of the room.

She just needed to get away!

---/---

Yashiro had watched what had just happened, frozen in place like everyone else. When he saw Kyoko pushing her way out of the room something in him came back to reality.

...didn't stop him blinking to see if he was dreaming or not.

When he opened his eyes to see Ren bearing down on a bloodied Sho he decided that he needed to do something to save Ren's career because he certainly didn't seem to be helping himself.

He was too far away to hear what was being said but Sho was saying something to Ren and he seemed angry. Ren just responded with getting angrier. When he started forward again to punch Sho Yashiro rushed forward, dropping his glass of champagne on the floor.

He practically rugby tackled Ren from the side, knocking him out of the way so that, to keep his balance, Ren had to leave of maiming Sho again.

"Yashiro!"

"Ren! Go after Kyoko now."

Ren blinked at the anger in Yashiro's voice. It didn't help calm the fire in his blood but Yashiro lost his temper and flared up himself.

"Ren. If you don't go after Kyoko now, so help me God."

Yashiro had knelt down to Sho, who was still sprawled on the floor, to see what the damage was. He glared up at Ren when he didn't move.

"Kyoko?"

With a strangled cry Yashiro leapt up and shoved Ren in the chest.

"Kyoko. Kyoko! Yes, Kyoko! You remember her don't you? I'm trying to save whatever left of your career you have left so just, do me a favour and go after Kyoko! She doesn't remember anything and she's going to wonder why you went berserk on someone that she's probably just met again and who has only been nice to her!"

Ren's mouth dropped open as Yashiro yelled at him.

"Oh shit. Kyoko!"

He spun around, trying to find her but she was long gone. Yashiro sighed when Ren shoved his way through the startled onlookers to follow Kyoko.

When Ren was safely out of the room, Yashiro turned back to a furious Sho to see what the damage was.

Sho shoved Yashiro's hands off him and stood up, spitting a mouthful of blood on the floor.

"Bastard. I'm going to ruin everything he's ever loved."

"Now, now." Yashiro tried to placate him, brushing down his clothes.

Sho rounded on him furiously, his chin and shirt still cover in blood and his jaw and side of his face already turning a deep purple. Yashiro flinched back.

"Look at me! The man's a madman! I did _nothing_. It was a simple kiss under the mistletoe, which was an accident by the by."

Yashiro lowered his voice "He really cares for Kyoko."

Sho blew up again. "I don't care if he cares for Kyoko or not. _I_ care for Kyoko but you don't see me going around punching other people's lights out over a kiss under the mistletoe. He made me _bleed_; the man's going to pay."

Sho stormed out of the room and Yashiro let him go, for once not having any idea how to fix this.

---/---

Harumi was smiling. She leant back over to the DJ.

"You can put the music back on now."

The man nodded, still stunned and flipped a switch. Music filtered through the hall and Harumi chuckled to herself. This was going to cost her big time but it had been one of the best Christmases she had ever had.

"Harumi. We need to talk."

She looked up to see Lory, scrunching her face when she recognised the tightly leashed anger.

"Of course Lory-kun. Just let me sort something out first. After all, your prodigy just nearly ruined my party."

With that parting shot she floated past him and walked out of the room, following the path taken by Kyoko, Ren and Sho.

---/---

Harumi appeared twenty minutes later, brushing her dress off happily. The smile dropped off her face when she saw that Lory was still waiting for her. Rolling her eyes at what she knew was about to come, she signalled for Lory to follow her over to a secluded corner of the room.

As soon as they were relatively private, Lory rounded on his long time friend.

"What do you think you're playing at? I know what you did."

Harumi blinked in shock before she frowned.

"What did I do?"

"You've messed everything up! You started this all with your bet and then you meddled throughout the month, manipulating Kyoko and Ren both. _Then_ you go and hurt Kyoko and put her in the hospital!"

"Hey! I admit to the bet but I never messed with Kyoko or Ren. They asked questions, I answered. _You're_ the one who meddled! What with your '_Oh Yashiro, do you have a minute? I want to get all the latest from you whilst pretending I'm not doing it_'. And you're '_Here you go Kanae-chan. Take the company credit card_'."

"That isn't meddling!"

"And I did _not_ put Kyoko in the hospital! That was just an unfortunate accident."

Lory paused, reigning in his temper to try and look at the situation objectively. He wasn't the president for the best agency in Japan because he was known for his rash judgements.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Really. Can you swear on the grave of your mother?"

Harumi's jaw worked for a moment.

"That. Was a low blow. But yes, if it makes you feel any _better_. I swear on the grave of my mother that I did not cause that accident."

They stared at each other for a moment before Lory broke the silence by breathing in sharply through his nose.

"Well. Good."

Harumi raised her eyebrow.

"Is that it? You got everything off your chest have you?"

Lory shrugged.

"Yeah. That was the main bulk of it."

"Phew. I thought you were going to say something about the blackmail. Ah well."

Lory stood stunned as she patted him on the arm and went back over to the DJ to get him to play one of her favourite songs by Sho.

"B-blackmail?!"

---/---

Ren finally caught up with Kyoko and grabbed her hand before she could run any further. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and it broke Ren's heart to see how much he had hurt her.

"Kyoko, wait. You don't understand. I only did what was necessary, he really hurt you. He's not a nice person. Don't hate me, please. I couldn't bear it."

Kyoko snatched her hand away.

"No. _You_ don't understand. I remember! I remember everything! And you didn't have to go and do that! It was an _accident_. Someone really did push him."

Ren looked at her, shocked.

"You remember?"

She stomped her foot on the ground.

"Yes! Yes, I remember!"

"When did you get your memories back?"

"A few days ago, the day I left the hospital. Harumi-san showed me a video and they came back then."

Ren clutched at his chest, his heart hurting at the implications.

"That long? Why didn't you say anything? And why then, didn't you stop Sho? You knew what he did to you then and you still let him kiss you."

Seeing the hurt look on his face made Kyoko more upset, both at herself because of the situation she had let herself get into and because she had hurt Ren. Her upset only translated into more anger.

"Well, first off. The kiss was an accident! It didn't give you the right to punch him in the face! I can't believe you did that. Second, I couldn't tell you that I got my memories back because I'm being _blackmailed_."

She stood there panting, having finished yelling at Ren. When she saw the stricken look on his face and realised what she had just blurted out she clapped her hands back over her mouth and groaned.

Great. She had broken the secret and now everyone's lives were going to be ruined. She needed to get away _now_ before it all became so much worse.

Maybe if she left now she could pretend that she hadn't said anything and Harumi might never find out and spread the video?

Her decision made, Kyoko turned, ready to run away.

She was stopped when Ren wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Please. Wait."

She sagged against his chest. She couldn't escape now even if she wanted to.

Fresh tears ran down her cheeks and dripped onto his hands. Ren buried his nose into her hair and breathed deeply, tightening his hold.

"You're being blackmailed?" He asked.

Kyoko leant back into him for support which he readily gave before she started her story.

"It was when I was in the hospital. I woke up the night before I was going to be released. Harumi-san was sitting in the chair and she said that she had a plan which involved me.

"She showed me a video that she had recorded of events in your flat."

She blushed.

"Events involving us. Like when we practised for 'Dark Moon' and when you were ill and I had to get you changed..."

Ren felt the muscles in his stomach tighten. This woman had footage of that? How had she managed to get cameras in his flat without him knowing? He had never noticed them before.

"She said that if I didn't go to the awards or if I told you that I didn't have amnesia any more then she would show the world the tape and ruin not only your career but everyone else's too.

"I couldn't let that happen!"

She started to struggle, trying to fight her way out of his arms, as if running away would help their problem any.

Ren kept a tight hold of her so that, after a few moments, she gave up and scrubbed her face with the heel of her hand.

When Ren felt that it was safe to loosen his hold and that she wasn't going to go sprinting off, he did just that and spun her around in his arms. He cocked his head to the side as he tilted her own chin up to him.

Staring deep into her eyes so that she would realise how serious he was, he took a deep breath.

"Kyoko. I don't care about what you did. You had your reasons and yes, I'm a little hurt that you didn't trust me, but I get why you did it. I understand that you were just trying to protect everyone."

"Y-you do?"

He smiled softly at her.

"Of course I do. I love you."

He said it so simple that it took Kyoko a few moments to work out what he had said. When her brain finally caught up her eyes widened and her mouth fell open, speechless.

Ren smiled again when he realised that she wasn't pushing away from him in disgust.

He leant in closer.

"I love you." He whispered against her lips before he kissed her.

Kyoko felt her stomach do flip flops but she was too stunned to do anything but stand there, trying to catch her breath.

When he pulled away she stared at him and he chuckled, a little embarrassed. He turned serious soon enough.

"Do you trust me?"

She opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out. In the end she just nodded, dumbly.

Ren smiled and pressed another kiss to her forehead.

"Go to my flat. I'll sort everything out here, don't worry. Just wait for me. Okay?"

She nodded again and Ren slowly let go of her arms. She didn't run at the first opportunity and Ren took that as a good sign.

"Go. I'll be over in a few hours."

For some reason she felt shy and she nodded at him, taking the keys he offered her.

Ren watched her leave in her dazed state. When she was out of sight his eyes narrowed and his temper flared up once again.

So this Harumi thought that she could mess with what was his, eh?

She was going to have to rethink that if she wanted to live past the dawn.

---/---

The celebrities in the hall were just recovering from what had just happened when Ren stormed back into the room and scared half of them witless.

Ignoring the reaction he searched the room for any sign of Harumi. He spotted her just moments later as she walked away from a stricken Lory who turned quickly and ran after her.

His eyes narrowed as he thought of what this woman had done to Kyoko.

Striding across the room he made it over to them in seconds, just in time for him to hear Lory exclaim.

"Blackmail? What blackmail?"

Harumi turned, chuckling at him but she stopped as soon as she saw Ren looming over her.

"Oh dear. I was hoping I would have left by this time. Looks like you and Kyoko sorted everything out quicker than I planned."

Ren gritted his teeth.

"Not that it's any of your business but Kyoko has gone back to my flat and –"

"Really?" she asked, cutting him off. "That's moving a bit fast isn't it?"

"And." He said, ignoring her interruption. "We will be discussing what has happened later. What I _wanted_ to see you about was your _blackmailing_ of _my_ Kyoko!"

Harumi raised her eyebrows at his turn of phrase but sighed when she realised that she wasn't going to be able to get away.

"I guess I'm going to have to explain then. You suck the fun out of everything you know that?"

Rolling her eyes she turned away from them and signalled for both Ren and Lory to follow her. Leading them out of the room she found an empty room and walked in, waiting for them to pass her before she closed the door.

Sighing once more, she turned to face them.

"Ok. Ask me anything then."

Ren and Lory shot each other a look. This wasn't what they had expected.

Harumi looked between the two of them before crossing her arms.

"Well? Come on. I don't have all day."

"Why did you blackmail Kyoko?" Ren asked.

"So that she would come to the awards. That was an easy one. Next?"

"Why did you want her to come to the awards?"

"So that she and Ren would get together. Okay, you have to seriously start asking harder questions here. I'm getting bored."

"So that they would get together?" Lory asked shocked. "But you said...you made the bet that Kyoko _wouldn't_ go with Ren! You bet all that money on her _not_ going!"

Ren stood frozen before he turned a confused look on Lory.

"You bet on me?"

"Ah..."

Harumi cut through Lory's answer.

"Yes, yes. Of course I bet on her not going. Don't forget Lory, I've known you since you were six. I know how you operate. If I say don't meddle, you meddle. It's as simple as that.

"And whilst you didn't do anything outright, you certainly made it easier if they did what you planned. Like with the credit card for instance."

"But the money!"

Harumi laughed.

"Lory. I was always going to give you that money back. It was an obscene amount really."

"Then why didn't you just do that? Why bet on me and Kyoko?" Ren asked.

Harumi turned to face him and shrugged.

"I thought it would be more interesting this way."

"Interesting? Interesting!"

"Yes. Interesting. Next."

"Why did you meddle?"

"To make it interesting. Again. Anymore?"

"How did you get footage from my apartment of me and Kyoko?"

Harumi frowned.

"Footage? What footage?"

"Don't act like you don't know!" Ren exploded. "The footage that you used to blackmail Kyoko!"

"Ooooh...that. Well. That can be explained easily. Your flat used to be my flat."

Ren blanched.

"What?"

Harumi nodded, knowingly.

"Yup. Bet you didn't know that. When you were looking for a flat when you first moved here, Lory came to me and asked if I knew anywhere. I was moving anyway so I said why not? Turns out that I hadn't turned off all the cameras like I thought.

"I saw you completely by accident. I had been flicking through my own security cameras when it switched to those in your flat. I was going to switch them off when I saw what was happening and an idea popped into my head."

Ren stood gobsmacked.

"You mean...you planned all this? From then?"

"Yes."

"You've been watching me in my own flat all this time?"

"What? No. Only when I knew Kyoko was coming over. Don't worry though...the cameras are placed at spots where you get the maximum coverage but doesn't show private places like the bed or the bathroom."

Lory cut across Ren's horror.

"How did you know when Kyoko would be appearing at Ren's?"

"I bugged all the phones at L.M.E.

"Including those that you give out to employees. It's amazing what you learn."

She smiled sweetly at them.

"So...you did all this?"

"Pretty much. I've been taking care of Kyoko for a long time without her knowing and I really did feel sorry about the accident. Not just because she was ruining my plan. So I got them to put her in my private room at the hospital.

"That's bugged too, though it was just to make sure she was getting the best care."

"That was your room?" Ren looked stunned.

"Of course."

"Wait..." Lory started, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why did you turn the music off just now when Ren hit Fuwa-san?"

Harumi grinned and shrugged. "Didn't want to miss the finale."

Ren's eyes widened.

"The finale?! I could be ruined all because of your games?"

Harumi brushed off his concerns.

"Pah. You're career won't be ruined. There was no press allowed here and no one who witnessed it will talk. I have dirt on all of them. They'll be too scared to say anything."

She frowned at Ren.

"I'm not condoning the violence though. That was a bit harsh. After all, he was only pushed into Kyoko on my command."

"What?!"

"But enough about that."

"What about Fuwa-san?" Lory asked. "Surely he's going to complain to the press?"

"Oh no. I bought him off. He's going to be the main star of everything I put on for the next three years. He's going to be the most popular male singer in Japan and maybe the world."

She grinned at Ren.

"You're going to have to work very hard to keep your top spot. What with your relationship with Kyoko and everything.

"Speaking of Kyoko. She'll have to work hard on her revenge too...if she still has that goal."

Ren and Lory stood staring at Harumi, speechless. Eventually Lory made a move.

"You mean...that all this time...? You've been manipulating me?"

Harumi smiled sadly and patted him on the arm.

"Yes, dear. Yes I have. Why do you think I was all too willing to go along with it when you had that '_brilliant_' idea of bringing this awards ceremony back? But look on the bright side! It's your turn next!"

"_Willing_? With that amount of money you demanded?"

Harumi shrugged.

"I was going to give you it back."

Lory just stared at her in bewilderment before he narrowed his eyes.

"I'll be looking forward to it."

She smiled at the two men and looked at her watch.

"Would you look at the time? I have to leave to catch my plane to Paris."

She started to leave when she remembered something and came back handing Ren a small box. He looked at it with confusion.

"It's a birthday present for Kyoko-chan. I know that you've been too busy with everything that's happened over the last few days to go shopping for one."

Ren opened the box and blinked at the silver ring.

"Wh-what exactly...?"

Harumi snorted.

"Don't worry. I don't expect _that_. It's just good luck for a girl to receive a ring from the man she loves before her eighteenth birthday. And seeing as you probably weren't going to be getting her another present this year, and seeing as by next Christmas it would be too late...

"I thought that it would be best if you did it now."

She grinned at him and patted him on the arm.

"Okay. I really have to go now. Ta ta! "

She left and the two men stare after her, blindsided by what had just happened. After a few minutes of silence Lory turned to Ren.

"Well...I didn't expect _that_." He chuckled. "Harumi-san is always doing things like that. I should have known something was fishy when she agreed to do this in the first place."

He patted Ren on the arm.

"It's okay. I'll explain what has happened to Kanae-chan and Yashiro-san. You just go back to Kyoko-chan and I'll see you when you come back to work."

Ren nodded and walked out of the room in a daze, heading home to Kyoko.

---/---

He arrived back to find a worried Kyoko pacing the living room. He was about to pull her into a hug when he remembered the cameras.

Damn. With everything that had happened he had forgotten to ask Harumi to take them down.

He wasn't even sure anymore that she hadn't left early just so she could avoid it.

Taking Kyoko by the hand he dragged her into the bedroom and sat her in the middle of the bed. She blushed as he crawled up next to her.

He only hoped that Harumi hadn't been lying to him when she said that the bed wasn't covered.

"Ren-san. I am so sorry."

He stayed silent for a moment before tracing his fingers down her cheek.

"I preferred it when you called me Ren...or even Ren-kun."

She blushed harder and ducked her head. Ren smiled and tilted her chin up again so that she had to look at him.

"I...I don't think that that would be appropriate."

"I do." He whispered as he leaned closer.

Kyoko jerked away.

"What are you doing? How can you even think of...what happened with Harumi-san? Is everything sorted? What happened?"

Ren smiled at her and stroked her cheek.

"Do you trust me?"

"Wh-what?"

He shrugged.

"Do you trust me?"

Kyoko blinked at him before her eyes softened.

"Yes. Yes I do."

"Then trust me when I say that everything is sorted and I'll explain later."

She stared at him and nodded.

"Okay Ren..."

He smiled at her and pulled out the box.

"Here. Happy birthday."

She stared at him before taking the box from his hand. She opened the box and her eyes lit up in excitement before dimming into uncertainty.

"A ring? What does this...?"

Ren rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"It's supposed to be good luck for a girl to get a silver ring from the man she...from a man before her eighteenth birthday."

"Oh..." She slipped the ring onto her right ring finger and smiled at Ren. "It's perfect. Thank you."

He smiled at her and suddenly she felt very tired. Yawning widely she rubbed her eyes. He moved over.

"Here. You can sleep here. I'll get you one of my shirts. I'll go through into the living room."

He stood up from the bed to get her something to sleep in and she reached out to him, slightly panicked.

He stared down at her before smiling. Bending over he kissed her again, his fingers threading through her hair.

After a few moments he pulled away slightly so that when he spoke his lips still brushed against hers.

"I'm just going to be in the next room Kyoko.

"I'll be waiting for you."

* * *

**I feel sorry for Sho in this chapter. I just want to give him a hug. He didn't do anything really and he gets knocked flat on his back?**

**I don't know if that's precisely the reaction my editor wanted though...**

**It's been a long hard road and I'm apologising now for those readers who are to the east of me who are ahead in the time zones and may not even get to read this on their Christmas day.**

**: (**

**Epic chapter. Longest thing I've ever written in two hours.**

**Hope you enjoyed it. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year.**

**See you next year!**

**DS**


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